KOSPI Closes at 7,300, Hits Record High with Over 6% Surge
by Kim Youngwon
Published 06 May.2026 15:57(KST)
Closed at 7,384.56 on May 6
Foreign Investors Net Buyers of KRW 3 Trillion
Individuals and Institutions Turn to Selling
On May 6, the KOSPI closed at the 7,300 mark, up more than 6% from the previous session. In contrast, the KOSDAQ showed a slightly weaker trend.
On this day at the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI finished trading at 7,384.56, up 447.57 points (6.45%) from the previous session. This is the highest closing price on record.
Earlier in the day, the KOSPI began trading above the 7,000 mark and soared to a new record high of 7,426.60 in the afternoon. In the early session, a surge of over 5% triggered a buying-side circuit breaker.
Foreign investors’ buying further boosted the rally. On this day, foreigners recorded a net purchase of KRW 3.5294 trillion in KOSPI stocks. Individual investors sold KRW 928.8 billion, and institutions sold KRW 2.2062 trillion.
Although the index posted a significant gain, sectoral performance diverged sharply. Electric & Electronics (10.97%), Securities (13.49%), Manufacturing (7.64%), Distribution (6.35%), Finance (4.15%), Machinery & Equipment (1.68%), and Medical & Precision Instruments (1.18%) rose. In contrast, General Services (-2.97%), Paper & Wood (-2.65%), Non-metallic Minerals (-2.37%), Food, Beverages & Tobacco (-2.30%), and Pharmaceuticals (-1.15%) declined.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, performances were mixed. Samsung Electronics jumped 14.41%, closing at the “260,000 won level.” SK hynix also surged 10.64%, settling at the “1.6 million won level.” SK Square (9.89%), LG Energy Solution (2.12%), and Hyundai Motor (2.04%) also closed higher. Meanwhile, Doosan Enerbility (-0.16%), Hanwha Aerospace (-2.18%), Samsung Biologics (-0.34%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-0.65%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-4.71%) recorded declines.
The KOSDAQ index ended the day at 1,210.17, down 3.57 points (-0.29%) from the previous session. Individuals were net buyers of KRW 634.9 billion, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of KRW 64 billion and KRW 539.6 billion, respectively.
Most of the top market cap stocks on KOSDAQ declined. These included Alteogen (-2.55%), Samchundang Pharm (-0.85%), Leeno Industrial (-3.39%), Kolon TissueGene (-1.15%), ABL Bio (-3.70%), and LIG ChemBio (-2.59%). Meanwhile, EcoPro BM (6.03%), EcoPro (4.49%), Rainbow Robotics (2.48%), and HLB (1.31%) posted gains.
Kyungmin Lee, a researcher at Daishin Securities, stated, "Overnight in the U.S. market, Micron, Intel, and SanDisk surged, driving up the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. This semiconductor-driven momentum, based on earnings, is spreading to the Korean stock market." He added, "Despite the sharp rise in the KOSPI, only 195 stocks advanced, nine remained unchanged, and 691 declined, indicating that the concentration on large-cap stocks has actually intensified."
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