KOSPI Surpasses 4,900 for the First Time Ever... Hyundai Motor Rises to Third in Market Cap

Robotics and Semiconductors Lead Gains
Hyundai Motor and Kia Surge More Than 10%

The KOSPI index surpassed 4,900 points for the first time in history, continuing its upward trend since the beginning of the year. The rally, driven by semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, was further bolstered by a sharp rebound in Hyundai Motor and Kia, which helped propel the index higher.

As of 2:00 p.m. on January 19, the KOSPI stood at 4,904.91, up 1.33% from the previous day. At around 1:58 p.m., it reached an all-time high of 4,906.07. After a slightly weaker start, the momentum for gains has grown even stronger.

Both Samsung Electronics, the largest company by market capitalization, and SK Hynix, the second largest, started the session lower but are now up 0.3% and 1.4%, respectively. Hyundai Motor surged by an impressive 13.3%, overtaking LG Energy Solution (up 0.9%) to become the third-largest company by market cap. Kia also showed a steep rise of 10.9%, climbing to eighth place by market capitalization. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 3.8%) and Hanwha Aerospace (up 2.3%) also posted strong gains. Among the top 10 companies by market cap, only SK Square (down 2.6%) and Samsung Biologics (down 0.7%) were in decline.

Foreign investors and individual investors, who had shown net buying earlier in the morning, switched to net selling, offloading 216.7 billion won and 272.8 billion won, respectively. Institutional investors turned to net buying, purchasing 272.2 billion won.

The KOSDAQ index also reversed course to rise. At the same time, it was up 1.15% from the previous trading day, standing at 965.54. This marks the highest level in three years since it reached 969.17 during intraday trading on January 18, 2022.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, Peptron (up 4.5%), Rainbow Robotics (up 3.8%), EcoPro BM (up 3.5%), Leeno Industrial (up 2.3%), and EcoPro (up 1.8%) posted strong gains. Alteogen (down 4.2%), HLB (down 2.2%), and Samchundang Pharm (down 0.5%) were in decline.

By investor type, only foreign investors recorded net buying, purchasing 163.8 billion won. Individual investors and institutions posted net selling of 74.7 billion won and 43 billion won, respectively.