KOSPI Extends Solid Rally, Surges Past 5,360 on Institutional Buying

[Financial News] The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped to the 5,360 level, supported by strong institutional buying. As of 2:20 p.m. on the 4th, the KOSPI was trading at 5,364.00, up 75.92 points (1.44%) from the previous session.
The index opened at 5,260.71, down 0.52% from the previous close, and moved sideways for a while before expanding its gains in the morning. In the afternoon it climbed to the 5,360 range, putting it on the verge of renewing its all-time high set on the 30th of last month.
In the main board market, foreign investors and retail investors are net sellers of 1.4357 trillion won and 160.9 billion won, respectively. However, institutions are buying a net 1.3853 trillion won, driving the index higher.
By sector, electricity and gas (5.44%), insurance (5.34%), and metals (3.5%) are showing strong gains, while IT services (-0.78%) and medical and precision instruments (-0.49%) are declining.
Among large-cap stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics has risen 0.84%, successfully turning higher. Hyundai Motor (2.14%), LG Energy Solution (2.81%), and Samsung Biologics (0.46%) are also advancing. SK hynix (-0.66%) is slightly weaker.
Overnight in the United States, stocks ended lower, mainly in tech names. This came despite expectations that a government shutdown would end after the federal budget bill passed the House, as concerns grew over potential earnings deterioration at competing software firms due to Anthropic's launch of an AI automation tool and worries about the profitability of hardware makers amid a sharp rise in memory prices.
The domestic market opened lower, tracking the weakness on Wall Street, then moved in a narrow range before building upward momentum.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "The decline in the U.S. market overnight was driven by concerns over earnings deterioration in the software sector due to AI, but Korea's software sector is largely unrelated to the KOSPI's record-high rally and is instead being viewed as a factor accelerating semiconductor supply shortages." He added, "With Samsung Electronics sharply paring its intraday losses, Alphabet's earnings announcement tomorrow morning has become more important."
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 1,145.76, up 1.43 points (0.12%) from the previous session. The index started the day at 1,139.02, down 0.46% from the prior close.
In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors are net buyers of 414.5 billion won, while foreigners and institutions are net sellers of 219.6 billion won and 135.7 billion won, respectively.


nodelay@fnnews.com Reporter Park Ji-yeon Reporter