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Kospi closes at record high, extends rally to 11th session

Published: 16 Jan. 2026, 18:22

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 4,840.74 points on Jan. 16, up 43.19 points, or 0.9 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares ended at a fresh record high above 4,800 points Friday, extending their rally to an 11th consecutive session amid continued buying momentum in semiconductor shares. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

The Kospi rose 43.19 points, or 0.9 percent, to finish at a record 4,840.74.

Before closing, the index touched an intraday record of 4,863.82 at 3:22 p.m.

It marked the 11th consecutive day of gains since the start of the year, reaching fresh highs daily.

Over the 11-session rally, the Kospi has climbed nearly 15 percent, first hitting the 4,300-point level on Jan. 2. It took only two days for the index to break above the 4,500-point mark before reaching the 4,800-point line in the 11th session.

The rally has built on last year's sharp gains. The benchmark ended 2025 at 4,214.17 on Dec. 30, up from 2,398.94 at the beginning of the year, posting an annual return of more than 75 percent.

Reflecting the sustained surge, total market capitalization reached 4,004.9 trillion won after Friday's close, topping the 4,000 trillion-won level for the first time. The market reached the milestone about three months after surpassing 3,000 trillion won in capitalization on Oct. 15.

Trade volume was heavy at 701.2 million shares worth 26.6 trillion won ($18.1 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 504 to 373.

Foreigners and institutional investors led the rally, scooping up a net 405 billion won and 338.5 billion won worth of local shares, respectively. Retail investors dumped a net 938 billion won.

"Gains from Samsung Electronics led the record-breaking rally following TSMC's latest annual growth report and the U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement," said Lee Jae-won, an analyst from Shinhan Securities.

"The Kospi is expected to further extend its robust run as major companies are predicted to come up with better-than-expected earnings reports," he added.

Semiconductor shares ended in positive territory, with industry leader Samsung Electronics jumping 3.47 percent to 148,900 won, and SK hynix adding 0.93 percent to 756,000 won.

Energy firm Doosan Enerbility soared 6.48 percent to 95,300 won, and the state-run utility company Korea Power Corp. advanced 1.67 percent to 54,700 won.

Samyang Foods, well known for the smash-hit spicy Buldak ramyeon series, gained 0.25 percent to 1.2 million won, while Cosmax, a major cosmetics manufacturing firm, surged 3.14 percent to 187,300 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 2.13 percent to 413,000 won, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics slipped 0.92 percent to 1.95 million won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,473.6 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 0.27 percent from the previous session of 1,469.7 won.

Yonhap