The KOSPI rose for a 10th straight session, leaving just a little over 200 points to the 5,000 mark. With foreigners and institutions net buyers together, the index climbed, and Samsung Electronics hit another record high.
On the 15th, the KOSPI closed at 4,797.55, up 74.45 points (1.58%) from the previous session. Opening at 4,710.28, down 12.82 points (0.27%) from the day before amid a U.S. market "cold snap," the KOSPI widened gains during the session on net buying by foreigners and institutions and drew close to the 4,800 level.
In the main board, foreigners and institutions were net buyers by 220 billion won and 1.24 trillion won, respectively. After U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said the weak won trend (a rise in the won-dollar exchange rate) was excessive in a verbal intervention-like message, the exchange rate plunged and foreign money flowed in for the first time in a while. Most of the institutional flows, however, came from financial investment, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Individuals alone sold a net 1.65 trillion won.
Of the top 10 by market cap, shares of nine rose. Bellwethers such as Samsung Electronics (2.57%) and SK hynix (0.94%) gained, amplifying the index's advance. Except for Doosan Enerbility (-0.11%), leading exporters including Hyundai Motor (2.55%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (2.6%), Hanwha Aerospace (1.97%), and Kia (6.64%) all traded at higher prices than the day before.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities Co., said, "Shipbuilding, defense, autos, and metals—order-driven industries—are showing strength in line with the short-term weak won trend," adding, "With rotation centered on sectors with recent earnings expectations, the KOSPI's uptrend is continuing."
Lee added, "In its economic assessment report released the same day, the Bank of Korea projected that domestic demand–led growth would expand this year on the back of a rebound in consumption and easing weakness in construction investment," and noted, "Amid expectations for a domestic demand recovery, the KOSPI appears to have risen despite a hawkish Monetary Policy Board."
The KOSDAQ closed at 951.16, up 8.98 points (0.95%) from the previous session. Opening at 940.66, down 1.52 points (0.16%) from the day before, the KOSDAQ swung between gains and losses through the morning before strong foreign buying in the afternoon lifted it to a higher close.
On the KOSDAQ, foreign investors supported the index with a net purchase of 270 billion won. Individuals and institutions were net sellers by 250 billion won and 5 billion won, respectively.
All of the top 10 KOSDAQ market-cap stocks ended higher. Shares rose in Alteogen (0.75%), EcoPro (0.53%), Rainbow Robotics (13.07%), and Peptron (1.09%).
The won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,469.7 won as of 3:30 p.m. in the Seoul foreign exchange market, down 7.8 won from the previous week's closing level.