Seoul shares experienced a significant surge, jumping by nearly 2% on Wednesday, surpassing the 6,000-point milestone for the first time. This increase was primarily driven by the continued growth in technology and automobile stocks. Additionally, the Korean won saw a sharp rise against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 114.22 points, or 1.91%, to reach a new high of 6,083.86, following an intraday peak of 6,144.71. This marks the fifth consecutive day of gains for the KOSPI, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Trading activity was robust, with a volume of 1.39 billion shares valued at 33.86 trillion won (US$23.7 billion). Gainers outnumbered decliners, with 446 stocks advancing against 433 declining.
The index has displayed a strong upward trend in recent weeks, breaking the 5,000-point barrier on Jan. 27, surpassing 5,500 on Feb. 12, and reaching above 5,800 last Friday and 5,900 on Tuesday.
Market sentiment was influenced by the positive performance on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.76% and the Nasdaq Composite by 1.04%. Institutional and individual investors net bought 880.76 billion won and 224.71 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting foreign selling of 1.29 trillion won.
