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Kospi breaks past 4,600 as rally continues

Published: 07 Jan. 2026, 09:35 Updated: 07 Jan. 2026, 09:54

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

The Kospi is seen at 4,611.72 points on an electric board in Hana Bank's trading room in Jung District, central Seoul, on Jan. 7, surpassing the 4,600-mark for the first time. [YONHAP]

Korean bourse Kospi surpassed the 4,600 mark on Wednesday morning early into intraday trading. Seoul shares opened sharply higher Wednesday on an extended rally in semiconductors.

At around 9:05 a.m. on Wednesday, the Kospi reached 4,611.72 points, up 1.91 percent from the previous trading day, according to the Korea Exchange.

This marks an all-time intraday high for the index. The news comes seven days into trading in the new year and one day after it hit the 4,500 mark on Tuesday.

The index's rise is largely due to a surge from semiconductors, brokerages and shipbuilders.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.99 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.65 percent.

Technology and auto stocks led the gains. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.81 percent, while chip giant SK hynix climbed 3.99 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor jumped 7.47 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia gained 1.55 percent.

Among decliners, top carrier Korean Air fell 1.56 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem shed 0.46 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,448.60 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 0.21 percent from the previous session's 1,445.50.

Update, Jan. 7: Added more details on specific stocks, local currency

BY LIM JEONG-WON, Yonhap [[email protected]]