Kospi hits 3,200 intraday milestone, closes lower amid profit-taking

Korea Herald

3 days ago

South Korea's benchmark Kospi surged past the 3,200 milestone during intraday trading Friday for the first time in nearly four years, marking a new high in its ongoing rally.
The Kospi opened at 3,186.35, up 0.1 percent from the previous day's close, extending Thursday's gains. Shortly after the opening bell, the index jumped past 3,200 and reached as high as 3,216.69 — a new year-high.
After hitting its intraday peak, the index quickly pared gains and dropped to as low as 3,170.46 during afternoon trading. It ended the session at 3,175.77, down 0.23 percent, unable to reclaim the 3,200 mark by the close.
Friday's rally marked the first time the benchmark index had surpassed the 3,200 threshold since September 2021. The latest milestone came just a day after the Kospi closed at a fresh high of 3,183.23 on Thursday.
The Kospi first closed above the historic 3,000 mark on June 20, shortly after the presidential election. Just four days later, on June 24, it crossed the 3,100 level.
Though the index dipped below 3,200 by the close on Friday, its intraday milestone — reached in under a month — underscores the market's upward momentum.
Friday's advance was largely fueled by a buying spree from retail investors, who net purchased 146.6 billion won ($106 million) worth of shares on the Kospi, reinforcing signs of renewed domestic investor confidence.
However, foreign and institutional investors capped gains by offloading 126.3 billion won and 66.6 billion won in shares, respectively.
Among blue-chip stocks, Samsung Electronics and its preferred shares gained more than 2 percent on growing expectations of improved earnings in the second half of the year. LG Energy Solution (+1.1 percent), Kia (+0.7 percent) and KB Financial Group (+0.43 percent) also posted modest gains.
On the other hand, Naver (-2.5 percent), Samsung Biologics (-2.13 percent) and SK hynix (-0.84 percent) saw declines.
'Amid expectations that Samsung Electronics' earnings will improve in the second half of this year, foreign buying strengthened. The market turned around Friday as underperforming large-cap stocks such as Samsung Electronics and secondary battery companies rebounded,' said Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities.
The secondary Kosdaq index closed at 800.47, up 0.35 percent on the day. During intraday trading, it climbed as high as 805.9, returning to the 800-point range for the first time since June 25.
Unlike the Kospi, foreign and institutional investors were net buyers on the Kosdaq, purchasing shares worth 56.7 billion won and 9.5 billion won, respectively. Retail investors offloaded shares worth 63.7 billion won.