Foreign and Institutional Buying Drives KOSPI Up Over 2%, Surpassing 3,940

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged over 2% during trading on the 26th, climbing above the 3,940 mark.
As of 2:10 p.m., KOSPI was trading at 3,944.16, up 2.24% from the previous session.
The index opened at 3,891.88, a 0.88% increase from the previous close, and rose to as high as 3,946.83 (up 2.31%) in early trading.
In the KOSPI Market, foreign investors and institutional investors recorded net purchases of 264.2 billion won and 1.0729 trillion won, respectively. Meanwhile, individual investors posted a net sale of 1.3581 trillion won.
By sector, machinery and equipment (up 4.96%) and construction (up 4.43%) showed strong gains of over 4%.
At the same time, the Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) also rose 1.89% to 872.19. Foreign investors and institutional investors posted net purchases of 118 billion won and 94.4 billion won, respectively, while individual investors recorded a net sale of 175.5 billion won.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, explained, "KOSPI turned to net buying by foreign investors as the US Dollar–South Korean Won exchange rate stabilized above 1,470 won, which previously triggered capital outflows. Most sectors are on the rise, with notable gains in Samsung Electronics, rechargeable batteries, Nuclear power, Financial Holding Company (FHC), health care, and Chemistry." He added, "Both the decline in interest rate cut expectations and the controversy over the overvaluation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which had caused the index to fall earlier this month, have now eased."

elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter