On Jan. 2, the first trading day of the new year, the KOSPI index touched an unprecedented 4,300 level, powered by a massive "buy" wave from foreign investors. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the flagship semiconductor stocks drawing concentrated foreign funds, surged and led the index higher.
That day, the KOSPI index finished at 4,309.63, up 95.46 points (2.27%) from the previous trading day, resetting a record high two months after Nov. 3 last year (4,221.87). On an intraday basis, it climbed to as high as 4,313.55, marking an all-time record high.
The KOSPI's strength was thanks to foreign investors' net purchases of 631.0 billion won in stocks. Individuals and institutions were net sellers of 457.1 billion won and 231.7 billion won, respectively.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, Korea's leading semiconductor stocks, both set all-time record highs that day as they rose to 1,285,000 won and 6,790,000 won, respectively. In particular, Samsung Electronics climbed 7.17% that day, ranking fourth for first-day-of-January gains behind 2000 (14.85%), 2002 (10.39%) and 1999 (9.51%).
Advancers on the KOSPI numbered 373, fewer than decliners (523). The tilt toward large caps was pronounced. Lim Jeong-eun, an analyst at KB Securities, said, "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were strong as the trend of earnings upgrades continued on the back of demand shifts centered on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and rising prices for commodity memory." Samsung Electronics is expected to announce earnings on the 8th, and it is expected to post the largest quarterly results on record.
Among other top market-cap names, Celltrion jumped nearly 12% on news it has begun in earnest its U.S. contract manufacturing (CMO) business. SK Square (6.52%), Hyundai Motor (0.67%) and Hanwha Aerospace (0.53%) also rose. In contrast, LG Energy Solution (-2.04%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-0.98%), Samsung Biologics (-0.71%) and Doosan Enerbility (-0.13%) closed lower.
A Korea Exchange (KRX) official said, "This is the fifth time since the index was launched in 1983 that the KOSPI has set a record high on the first trading day of the new year," adding, "This reflects factors such as the government's capital market revitalization policy and strong semiconductor exports, while exchange rate volatility and the United States' interest rate cut policy, among other internal and external uncertainties, remain reasons for caution."
The KOSDAQ index closed at 945.57, up 20.10 points (2.17%) from the previous trading day. After hitting 938.83 on the 15th of last month, it set a new 1-year high. On the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 104.1 billion won and 87.4 billion won, respectively. Individuals alone were net sellers of 186.0 billion won.
Among top market-cap stocks on the KOSDAQ, LEENO Industrial and PharmaResearch jumped more than 7%, while Sam Chun Dang Pharm (5.16%), Rainbow Robotics (4.9%), HLB (4.13%) and Alteogen (1.67%) were also strong. Conversely, Kolon TissueGene (-10.18%), EcoPro BM (-3.34%), Peptron (-2.76%), EcoPro (-2.75%), ABL Bio (-2.25%) and LigaChem Biosciences (-1.67%) were weak.
Lim said, "With news that President Lee Jae-myung will visit China for four days starting on the 4th, expectations for resolving the 'Thaad retaliation' restrictions known as the 'Korean Wave ban' grew, lifting cosmetics and entertainment stocks."