KOSPI Hits Another All-Time High as Samsung Electronics Opens the ‘1,000 Trillion Won’ Era [fn Closing Market Report]

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed above the 5,370 level, setting another all-time high. Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization surpassed 1,000 trillion won for the first time in history. It is the first time a single stock on the Korean market has broken the 1,000 trillion won mark.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 4th, the KOSPI closed at 5,371.10, up 83.02 points, or 1.57%, from the previous trading day.
The index opened at 5,260.71, down 0.52% from the previous session, and moved sideways at first. It then expanded its gains in the morning and, in the afternoon, climbed into the 5,370 range, breaking its previous record high.
In the KOSPI Market, retail investors were net sellers of 1.0066 trillion won. Foreign investors also took profits, selling 940.2 billion won, while institutions posted a net purchase of 1.7825 trillion won, driving the index higher.
Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization exceeded 1,000 trillion won for the first time ever. The stock ended the session at 169,100 won, up 0.96% from the previous day, giving it a market cap of 1,001.0108 trillion won and making it the first Korean company to cross the 1,000 trillion won threshold. On this day, Samsung Electronics accounted for 22.56% of the KOSPI’s total market capitalization of 4,437.3235 trillion won.
By sector, insurance (5.76%), utilities such as electricity and gas (5.02%), and metals (3.78%) advanced. In contrast, IT services (-0.58%) and medical and precision instruments (-0.05%) edged lower.
Among large-cap stocks by market value, Samsung Electronics (0.66%), Hyundai Motor (2.34%), LG Energy Solution (3.2%), and Samsung Biologics (0.4%) gained, while SK hynix (-0.66%) slipped slightly.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower, led by technology shares. This came despite expectations that a government shutdown would be averted after the federal budget bill passed the House, as concerns grew over potential earnings deterioration at competing software firms following Anthropic’s launch of an AI automation tool and over the profitability of hardware companies amid a sharp rise in memory prices.
The Korean market opened lower, tracking the weakness in U.S. stocks overnight, and moved in a narrow range before expanding gains in the afternoon.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "The decline in U.S. stocks overnight was driven by concerns about earnings deterioration in the software sector due to AI, but Korean software stocks are largely unrelated to the KOSPI’s record-breaking rally and are instead being viewed as a factor accelerating semiconductor supply shortages." He added, "As Samsung Electronics sharply pared its intraday losses, the earnings results of Alphabet Inc., which will be released tomorrow morning, have become more important."
The KOSDAQ Index closed at 1,149.43, up 5.10 points, or 0.45%, from the previous trading day. The index had opened at 1,139.02, down 0.46%.
In the KOSDAQ Market, individual investors were net buyers of 234.5 billion won, while foreign investors and institutions recorded net sales of 53.9 billion won and 144.5 billion won, respectively.
nodelay@fnnews.com Park Ji-yeon Reporter