Seoul’s benchmark Kospi climbed back above the 4,000 mark on Monday, buoyed by renewed optimism over investor-friendly policy measures and signs of a deal to end the US government shutdown.
The Kospi on Monday closed at 4,073.24, up 3 percent from Friday’s close. The index extended gains after opening 0.96 percent higher at 3,991.87, holding above the 4,000 threshold for most of the session and briefly nearing 4,100 with an intraday peak of 4,092.91.
Institutions led the rally with net purchases of about 1.3 trillion won ($900 million), while individuals took profits, selling nearly 1.2 trillion won. Foreign investors offloaded an additional 150 billion won.
Although foreign investors remained net sellers for a sixth straight session, they sharply slowed their selling after dumping more than 7 trillion won worth of Kospi shares over the past five days, their largest weekly net sales on record.
The tech-heavy Kosdaq also added 1.32 percent to close at 888.35.
Monday’s rebound came amid lingering volatility concerns, as the Kospi struggled to consolidate after a historic rally that saw it breach 4,000 for the first time on Oct. 27 and surge to a record 4,226.75 last Tuesday. The index quickly surrendered gains, dropping more than 200 points in two days to slip below 4,000, with sharp declines triggering sidecars on both the Kospi and Kosdaq on Thursday.
Analysts said the latest gains were partly driven by optimism over a potential resolution of the US government shutdown, which also lifted US stock futures. Futures tied to the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 were all trading higher. Reports from Washington indicated the Senate was nearing a bipartisan deal to end the federal government’s longest-ever shutdown, now in its sixth week.
Most sectors advanced, with all top 10 Kospi stocks rising except Samsung Biologics, which was flat. Market bellwethers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix gained 2.8 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, defying global concerns over an AI bubble correction that weighed on big tech stocks on the Nasdaq Friday. Hyundai Motor and Doosan Enerbility each climbed over 2.5 percent, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 3.3 percent and Hanwha Aerospace advanced 4.6 percent.
The won strengthened to 1,452 per US dollar from 1,457 at the open, stabilizing in the low-1,450 range.
jwc@heraldcorp.com
