KOSPI Hits Record High for Sixth Day... Only 116 Points Away from "KOSPI 4000"

by Kim Jinyeong

Published 22 Oct.2025 15:59(KST)

On October 22, the KOSPI, which had paused for breath in the early session, succeeded in rebounding in the afternoon and once again set a new all-time high.

On this day, the KOSPI closed at 3,883.68, up 59.84 points (1.56%), marking a new record closing high. The index has now risen for six consecutive trading days, and with only about 3% left to reach the symbolic "KOSPI 4000" level, the milestone is within sight.

Yonhap News Agency

Earlier, the index opened at 3,827.23, up 3.39 points (0.09%) from the previous session, but turned weak as caution grew over the failure of a US-China summit and as profit-taking sentiment spread. However, the market regained strength as institutional investors resumed buying.

While individual investors and foreign investors sold 54.2 billion won and 722.7 billion won worth of shares respectively, institutional investors purchased 762.3 billion won, driving the index higher. In the KOSPI200 futures market, individuals and foreigners were net sellers of 237.9 billion won and 36.2 billion won, respectively, while institutions were net buyers of 294 billion won.

Most of the top KOSPI stocks by market capitalization ended higher. LG Energy Solution rose 4%, Hanwha Aerospace climbed 3.39%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gained 3.20%, Samsung Biologics was up 2.53%, Kia advanced 1.99%, Hyundai Motor rose 1.75%, Samsung Electronics increased 1.13%, and SK Hynix was up 0.52%. On the other hand, KB Financial Group fell 0.60% and Doosan Enerbility declined 1.25%.

On the same day, the KOSDAQ closed at 879.15, up 6.65 points (0.76%). The index had started flat at 872.51 and initially widened its losses, but turned positive as individual investors increased their buying. Individuals were net buyers of 178.4 billion won, while foreigners and institutions sold 66.2 billion won and 99.1 billion won, respectively.

The top KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization closed mixed. Ecopro stood out with a surge of over 15%, followed by Ecopro BM (up 3.38%), Alteogen (up 1.92%), and LIG Chem Bio (up 0.37%). Meanwhile, Peptron fell 3.85%, HLB dropped 3.49%, ABL Bio declined 1.37%, PharmaResearch slipped 0.71%, and Rainbow Robotics edged down 0.15%.

By sector, chemicals (+6.63%), shipbuilding (+4.58%), transportation and logistics (+4.48%), and trade and sales (+4.13%) posted gains. Meanwhile, nonferrous metals (-1.22%), media services (-0.63%), and venture capital (-0.38%) ended lower.

Lim Jeongeun, a researcher at KB Securities, commented, "Unlike the previous day, the market showed weakness in the morning but strength in the afternoon, with secondary batteries, shipbuilding, and defense leading the rally." She added, "While profit-taking was seen in recently surging semiconductor and securities stocks, rotation into shipping, oil refining, and chemicals led to continued solid gains in the index."

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the weekly closing exchange rate of the Korean won against the US dollar (as of 3:30 p.m.) was 1,429.8 won, up 2.0 won from the previous session. This was attributed to the yen's weakness and the dollar's strength following the inauguration of Japan's new prime minister.