KOSPI Hits Record High for Fifth Straight Session... KOSDAQ Turns Weak

The KOSPI started higher on September 16, marking its fifth consecutive session of record highs.

As of 9:20 a.m. on this day, the KOSPI was trading at 3,428.56, up 21.56 points (0.63%) from the previous session. This surpassed the previous all-time high of 3,407.31 set the day before, extending its winning streak to 11 sessions and its record-setting streak to five sessions. The index opened at 3,421.13, up 13.82 points (0.41%). While foreign investors made net purchases of 176.5 billion won, individuals and institutions recorded net sales of 155.5 billion won and 18.8 billion won, respectively.

Yonhap News Agency

Most of the top market cap stocks were strong. Doosan Enerbility (up 4.25%), SK Hynix (up 2.11%), Hanwha Aerospace (up 1.62%), Samsung Electronics (up 0.98%), LG Energy Solution (up 0.70%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 0.50%), Hyundai Motor (up 0.23%), and KB Financial Group (up 0.17%) all saw gains. In contrast, Samsung Biologics (down 0.67%) and Kia (down 0.69%) declined.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 852.54, down 0.15 points (0.02%). The index had opened at 854.40, up 1.71 points (0.20%), but quickly turned negative. While individuals alone bought 100.2 billion won, foreign investors and institutions sold 93.4 billion won and 4.4 billion won, respectively.

Most of the top KOSDAQ stocks were weak. ABL Bio (down 2.78%), Rainbow Robotics (down 2.68%), Peptron (down 2.13%), LegoChem Biosciences (down 2.08%), Alteogen (down 1.12%), and PharmaResearch (down 0.48%) declined, while Ecopro (up 1.21%), Ecopro BM (up 0.74%), and HLB (up 0.65%) gained.

By sector, display panels (up 7.36%), aerospace and defense (up 2.27%), machinery (up 1.65%), publishing (up 1.58%), and semiconductor equipment (up 1.49%) were strong. In contrast, biotechnology (down 1.35%), airlines (down 0.98%), and building materials (down 0.63%) were weak.

Kang Daeseung, a researcher at SK Securities, said, "We expect the strength in the Korean stock market to continue, influenced by gains in the U.S. stock market centered on artificial intelligence (AI)," adding, "The strong performance of semiconductor companies is likely to persist for the time being, driving the rise of the Korean stock market."

On the Seoul foreign exchange market, the Korean won opened at 1,386.1 won per U.S. dollar, down 2.9 won from the previous day, as expectations for a U.S. benchmark interest rate cut influenced the market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.