Seoul: South Korean stocks shot up by the most in six years Tuesday, rebounding from the previous session's deep trough, as investors brushed off concerns over the newly nominated Federal Reserve chair and went bargain hunting. The Korean won also rose against the U.S. dollar.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 338.41 points, or 6.84 percent, to close at a new high of 5,288.08, marking a sharp upturn from the previous day's decline. This was the steepest daily increase since March 24, 2020, when the index rose by 8.6 percent, based on data provided by the Korea Exchange (KRX), South Korea's main bourse operator.

Trade volume was notably high at 666.5 million shares, valued at 29.3 trillion won (approximately US$20.3 billion). The number of winners significantly outpaced losers, with 825 stocks advancing compared to 75 declining. Strong buying demand led the KRX to temporarily suspend stock purchases in early trading.

The temporary halt in trading, referred to as a "sidecar" in Korea, followed a similar suspension for sell orders the previous day after a more than 5 percent plunge in the KOSPI. The last occurrence of back-to-back sell-side and buy-side sidecars by the KRX was in April 2018, in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcement, as noted by Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst from Daishin Securities.

Lee added, "As there was no change in the market's fundamentals, the benchmark index recovered on bargain hunting." JP Morgan also raised its target for the KOSPI to a range of 6,000 to 7,500, highlighting strong performance in sectors such as defense and shipbuilding.

Foreign and institutional investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth 703.3 billion won and 2.2 trillion won, respectively, while retail investors sold off a net 2.9 trillion won. Large-cap shares saw gains across the board.

Market leader Samsung Electronics soared 11.37 percent to 167,500 won, with competitor SK hynix advancing 9.28 percent to 907,000 won. Defense company Hanwha Aerospace rose 4.84 percent to 1,299,000 won, Hyundai Motor increased 2.82 percent to 491,500 won, and KB Financial climbed 3.81 percent to 138,800 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,445.4 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., appreciating by 18.9 won from the previous session.