On January 15, the KOSPI, which had started the day lower, demonstrated remarkable resilience, surging to just below the 4,800 mark and once again setting a new all-time high.
On this day, the KOSPI closed at 4,797.55, up 74.45 points (1.58%) from the previous session, breaking its all-time record for the tenth consecutive trading day. The index opened at 4,710.28, down 12.82 points (0.27%) from the previous close, and fluctuated around the flat line before expanding its gains later in the session. This marks the first time in about four months that the KOSPI has risen for more than ten consecutive trading days, the last time being from September 2 to September 16 last year (a total of 11 trading days).
The driving force behind the rally was robust buying by both foreign investors and institutions. While individual investors sold 1.8204 trillion won, foreign investors and institutions purchased 342.4 billion won and 1.2977 trillion won, respectively, supporting the index. In the KOSPI200 futures market, individuals were net buyers of 446.2 billion won, while foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 167.3 billion won and 285.2 billion won, respectively.
Lim Jeongeun, a researcher at KB Securities, commented, "The KOSPI has risen for ten consecutive trading days due to a combination of economic optimism, abundant liquidity, and expectations for strong earnings. As earnings estimates continue to be revised upward, valuation pressures remain relatively low, so the positive momentum in the stock market is expected to continue."
Most of the large-cap stocks on the KOSPI ended higher. Kia (up 6.64%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 2.60%), Samsung Electronics (up 2.57%), Hyundai Motor (up 2.55%), Samsung Biologics (up 1.97%), Hanwha Aerospace (up 1.97%), and SK Hynix (up 0.94%) all posted gains. In the afternoon, Samsung Electronics extended its gains and SK Hynix turned positive after TSMC reported an earnings surprise. In contrast, SK Square (down 1.38%) and Doosan Enerbility (down 0.11%) declined.
On the same day, the KOSDAQ closed at 951.16, up 8.98 points (0.95%) from the previous session. The index had opened at 940.03, down 2.15 points (0.23%), but rebounded as foreign investor inflows increased. While individuals and institutions were net sellers of 252.5 billion won and 200 million won, respectively, foreign investors bought 269.5 billion won worth of shares.
All of the top market cap stocks on the KOSDAQ ended higher. Rainbow Robotics (up 13.07%), HLB (up 1.52%), Peptron (up 1.09%), Samchundang Pharm (up 0.80%), Alteogen (up 0.75%), Kolon TissueGene (up 0.70%), Ecopro (up 0.53%), Ecopro BM (up 0.47%), ABL Bio (up 0.21%), and Legochem Bio (up 0.12%) all finished strong.
By theme, robot stocks (up 5.79%), smart factory stocks (up 5.08%), and tire stocks (up 5.04%) drew market attention. In contrast, leading IT stocks (down 2.57%) and mobile game stocks (down 2.19%) experienced corrections.
On the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate, which had opened at 1,465 won-down 12.5 won-ended at 1,469.7 won, influenced by the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board holding the base rate steady and bargain hunting.
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