KOSPI tops 5,900 for first time on retail buying, closes at 5,846.09 [Financial News Closing Market]

[Financial News] The KOSPI on the 23rd briefly broke through the 5,900 mark for the first time ever, driven by strong retail buying. However, selling by foreign and institutional investors erased much of the gain, and the index finished in the 5,800 range.
The KOSPI closed at 5,846.09, up 37.56 points, or 0.65%, from the previous session. It opened at 5,903.11, up 94.58 points, or 1.63%, from the prior day.
At around 9:04 a.m., the index touched an all-time intraday high of 5,931.86, but then gave back a substantial portion of its gains.
In the domestic main board market, foreign investors and institutions sold 1.0939 trillion won and 143.9 billion won worth of shares, respectively. In contrast, retail investors bought 1.0817 trillion won, helping to support the index.
Samsung Electronics, the largest stock by market capitalization, ended the day at 193,000 won, up 2,900 won, or 1.53%. During the session it jumped to as high as 197,600 won, setting a new all-time high for the first time in two trading days since the previous record of 190,900 won on the 19th.
SK hynix, the second-largest stock by market cap, finished at 951,000 won, up 2,000 won, or 0.21%. Intraday, it touched 980,000 won, marking a record high.
Market participants said buying interest in major domestic semiconductor stocks strengthened ahead of earnings from Nvidia, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker, after a ruling that tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump U.S. administration were illegal.
On the 20th (local time), a court ruled that the sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on countries around the world were unlawful, which is seen as heating up investor sentiment.
Among the top 14 stocks by market capitalization, Hyundai Motor (2.75%), Samsung Electronics (1.53%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (0.83%) and Kia (0.52%) posted the biggest gains. Doosan Enerbility (-1.45%), LG Energy Solution (-1.37%) and Samsung Biologics (-1.09%) showed notable weakness.
The KOSDAQ Index ended at 1,151.99, down 2.01 points, or 0.17%, from the previous session. It opened at 1,154.43, up 0.43 points, or 0.04%, but later reversed into negative territory.
khj91@fnnews.com Kim Hyun-jung Reporter