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Kospi surpasses 4,290 for first time on opening day of trading in 2026

Published: 02 Jan. 2026, 13:51 Updated: 02 Jan. 2026, 14:33

The year’s first Kospi reading is displayed on an electronic board at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, western Seoul, on the morning of Jan. 2, during the opening ceremony for the 2026 stock and derivatives markets. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Kospi surpassed the 4,290 mark intraday for the first time ever on Friday, the first trading day of 2026.

As of 1:01 p.m., the Kospi was trading at 4,278.09, up 1.52 percent from the previous session on Tuesday, after reaching as high as 4,282.08 earlier in the day.

As of 2:28 p.m., the Kospi was trading at 4,294.7.

Foreign and institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing 105.6 billion won ($73.16 million) and 13.3 billion won, respectively, while retail investors offloaded 145.6 billion won.

Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics rose 5 percent and SK hynix gained 3.07 percent.

The tech-heavy Kosdaq was also up 1.66 percent to 940.82 in the afternoon, after reaching a new 52-week intraday high of 944.12 earlier in the session.

Foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 109.3 billion won and 69.3 billion won, respectively, while retail investors sold off 165.7 billion won.

Updated, Jan. 2, 2026: Added information about the Kospi surpassing the 4,290 mark for the first time ever.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]