"How High Will It Go?"... KOSPI Composite Index Closes at 7,822.24 on Buying by Retail and Institutional Investors [fn Closing Bell]

[The Financial News] The KOSPI Composite Index set a new record on the 11th, closing at 7,822.24 as retail and institutional investors bought heavily. It has finished higher for five straight trading sessions since the 4th.
The index ended the day up 324.24 points, or 4.32%, from the previous session at 7,822.24. It opened 277.31 points, or 3.70%, higher at 7,775.31 and widened its gains as trading progressed.
On the Korea Exchange Main Board, retail and institutional investors bought a net 286.95 billion won and 62.56 billion won, respectively, driving the index higher. Foreign investors, meanwhile, sold a net 348.82 billion won.
By sector, electric and electronic shares rose 6.87%, manufacturing 5.34%, transportation equipment and parts 4.15%, retail 3.15%, telecommunications 2.35%, and financials 1.26%. Entertainment and culture fell 2.36%, transportation and warehousing 2.15%, electricity and gas 2.09%, real estate 2.00%, pharmaceuticals 1.96%, and paper and wood 1.79%.
Among the largest-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics rose 6.33% and SK hynix jumped 11.51%, leading the index higher. SK Square gained 8.11%, Hyundai Motor Company 5.38%, Samsung C&T Corporation 6.98%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries 4.10%, and Kia Corporation 6.20%. LG Energy Solution fell 1.78%, Doosan Enerbility 1.23%, Samsung Biologics 0.95%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics 1.53%.
The KOSPI Composite Index strengthened from the opening bell, led by semiconductor stocks, as global optimism lifted the sector. A buy-side circuit breaker was also triggered shortly after the market opened. The measure is activated when the futures index rises more than 5% from the previous session and stays there for more than one minute, suspending buy orders for five minutes.
With the KOSPI Composite Index's gains, the total market capitalization of the domestic stock market, including KOSDAQ, topped 7,000 trillion won for the first time. According to Korea Exchange (KRX), the combined market cap stood at 7,088.3043 trillion won at the close. Of that, the KOSPI accounted for 6,410.8801 trillion won and KOSDAQ for 673.6114 trillion won.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Yuanta Securities Korea Co., Ltd., said, "The KOSPI Composite Index rose today on the back of a sharp rally in U.S. semiconductor stocks over the weekend and strong export data, with semiconductor shares leading the advance." He added, "The U.S.-China summit can be seen as the key variable this week."
KOSDAQ closed at 1,207.34, down 0.38 points, or 0.03%, from the previous session. It opened 5.16 points, or 0.43%, higher at 1,212.88 before reversing course.
On KOSDAQ, foreign investors and retail investors bought a net 116.0 billion won and 85.1 billion won, respectively. Institutional investors, meanwhile, sold a net 163.6 billion won.

yimsh0214@fnnews.com Lim Sang-hyeok Reporter