The KOSPI index rose after breaking through a record high on the 2nd, the first trading day of 2026.
As of 10:12 a.m. that day, the KOSPI index was at 4,235.57, up 21.40 points (0.51%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI index opened at 4,224.53, up 0.25% from the previous trading day.
Right after the open, the KOSPI climbed to as high as 4,239.23, rewriting the intraday record high (4,226.75) set on Nov. 4 last year. The all-time closing high is 4,221.87 (on Nov. 3 last year).
In the main bourse, individual investors alone bought a net 137.9 billion won. Foreign investors and institutions posted net sales of 114.1 billion won and 29.9 billion won, respectively.
Heavyweight stocks by market cap are rising. Samsung Electronics is up more than 1%, and Hanwha Aerospace (0.85%), SK hynix (0.77%), SK Square (0.68%), and Hyundai Motor (0.67%) are modestly higher. LG Energy Solution (-2.31%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-0.20%), and Samsung Biologics (-0.12%) are falling.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was at 936.11, up 10.64 points (1.15%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ index started at 933.34, up 0.85% from the previous trading day.
On the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 70.8 billion won and 9.1 billion won, respectively. Individuals sold 81.8 billion won worth of shares.
Among top KOSDAQ stocks by market cap, moves are mixed. PharmaResearch is rallying more than 10%, and HLB (6.10%), Peptron (3.94%), Alteogen (1.89%), Sam Chun Dang Pharm (1.08%), and Rainbow Robotics (0.80%) are rising. In contrast, EcoPro BM (-2.86%), EcoPro (-1.76%), LigaChem Biosciences (-0.75%), ABL Bio (-0.35%), and Kolon TissueGene (-0.25%) are weak.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market that day, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,439.5 won per $1, up 0.5 won from the previous trading day.
Meanwhile, on Dec. 31 last year (local time), the previous trading day, on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 48,063.29, down 0.63% from the previous trading day. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 0.74% to 6,845.50, and the Nasdaq shed 0.76% to 23,241.99.