KOSPI Surges Past 5,740 Intraday on Institutional Net Buying

On the 20th, when the KOSPI surpassed the 5,700 mark for the first time in history, an employee at the dealing room of Woori Bank's headquarters in Seoul is monitoring the stock market and exchange rates. The KOSPI opened at 5,696.89 that day, up 19.64 points (0.35%) from the previous day. Semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics, remained slightly lower. February 20, 2026 Cho Yongjun, Reporter

The KOSPI hit an intraday all-time high, supported by net buying from institutional investors.

As of 10:16 a.m. on Feb. 20, the KOSPI was trading at 5,749.11, up 1.27% from the previous day.

By investor type, institutions were net buyers of 374.8 billion won, while foreigners and retail investors were net sellers of 357.9 billion won and 37.4 billion won, respectively. In the futures market, institutions were net sellers of 448.6 billion won, whereas foreigners and retail investors were net buyers of 422.3 billion won and 40.0 billion won, respectively.

By sector, more sectors were rising than falling. Insurance was up 9.86%, securities 4.7%, construction 3.86%, finance 3.86%, machinery and equipment 3.52%, distribution 3.1%, electricity and gas 2.58%, telecommunications 1.92%, transportation equipment 1.67%, general services 1.58%, IT services 1.49%, chemicals 1.42%, non-metallic minerals 1.42%, and metals 1.41%. In contrast, sectors such as paper and lumber, real estate, medical precision instruments, and pharmaceuticals remained weak.

Among large-cap stocks by market capitalization, movements were mixed. Shares of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Hyundai Motor, the companies ranked first to third by market cap, were slightly weaker, while LG Energy Solution and Samsung Biologics were trading slightly higher. Doosan Enerbility (up 6.61%), Hanwha Aerospace (up 6.53%), KB Financial Group (up 1.38%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 2.44%) were also strong.

The KOSDAQ index was on a weaker trend. The KOSDAQ was trading at 1,158.49, down 0.19% from the previous day. By investor type, institutions and foreigners were net sellers of 3.8 billion won and 159.3 billion won, respectively, while retail investors were net buyers of 183.0 billion won.

Among large-cap KOSDAQ stocks, movements were mixed. Ecopro and Ecopro BM were trading slightly higher, and Samchundang Pharm (up 1.25%), Rainbow Robotics (up 1.53%), and Caregen (up 2.41%) were also strong. In contrast, Alteogen was down 1.09%, and ABL Bio, Kolon TissueGene, LIG Nex1, and HLB were trading slightly lower.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar exchange rate was trading at 1,448.1 won, down 0.8 won from the previous day.