In December, the KOSPI index rose more than 7%, staging a year-end "Santa rally," helped by big-cap semiconductor stocks.

On the afternoon of the 29th, the KOSPI closing price is displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul, as the index reclaims the 4,200 mark for the first time in 38 trading days. The KOSPI closes at 4,220.56, up 90.88 points (2.20%) from the previous session, and the KOSDAQ finishes at 932.59, up 12.92 points (1.40%). In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the dollar-won rate ends at 1,429.8 won, down 10.5 won from the 3:30 p.m. weekly closing the previous day. /Courtesy of News1

According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 31st, the KOSPI closing price on the 30th (4214.17) rose 7.32% from the last trading day of the previous month, the 28th (3926.59).

After surging in the summer and showing a "bull market," the KOSPI fell 4.40% from Oct. 31 to Nov. 29 as concerns spread from the United States about an "AI bubble." The index closed at a record high of 4221.87 on the 3rd of last month and climbed intraday to 4226.75 on the 4th, but then failed to gain upward momentum and fell intraday to 3833.24 on the 25th of last month.

The sluggish mood changed little by little this month. Buoyed by strong earnings at major U.S. tech firms and expectations of U.S. benchmark rate cuts, it recovered the 4,000 level on the 4th and gradually rose to finish trading at 4214.17 on the 30th, the last trading day of the year. On the 30th, the KOSPI index rose intraday to 4226.36, coming within just 0.39 points of the record high.

The year-end strength in the KOSPI was led by foreigners and institutions by investor type, and by semiconductors by sector. From the 1st to the 30th, foreigners made a net purchase of 4.1267 trillion won and institutions 4.8432 trillion won on the main bourse. Individuals made a net sale of 9.0152 trillion won.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which lead the KOSPI market, jumped 18.95% and 21.00%, respectively, during the period. The two stocks closed on the 30th at 119,900 won and 651,000 won, respectively, hitting all-time highs.

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