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Seoul shares up for 3rd day to close at fresh peak just shy of 5,000

Published: 23 Jan. 2026, 17:53

A person is seen in front of Hana Bank's dealing room in central Seoul on Jan. 23. [YONHAP]

Korean stocks closed higher on Friday at a fresh peak, led by gains in technology and brokerage shares, after hitting another intraday record high. The won increased against the dollar.

After a choppy session, the benchmark Kospi went up 37.54 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 4,990.07.

Trade volume was heavy at 595.6 million shares worth 29.6 trillion won ($20.2 billion), with winners far outpacing losers 677 to 212.

Institutions and foreigners purchased 491.2 billion won and 133.3 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while individual investors off-loaded a net 725.6 billion won alone.

The index opened sharply higher, briefly breaching the 5,000-point threshold for the second consecutive session and reaching an intraday record of 5,021.13.

Gains later narrowed on profit-taking.

“Foreign investors locked in profits, particularly in auto stocks, which have surged recently,” said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, noting that profit-taking has accelerated and sector rotation is proceeding more quickly.

Most large-cap shares were mixed.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics moved down 0.13 percent to 152,000 won, while SK hynix gained 1.59 percent to 767,000 won. Top battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 1.2 percent to 412,000 won.

Leading financial group KB Financial rose 0.67 percent to 135,600 won, and internet portal operator Naver jumped 8.35 percent to 266,000 won.

Bio shares were among the gainers, with Samsung Biologics adding 1.35 percent to end at 1,802,000 won. Celltrion gained 1.92 percent to 212,000 won.

Auto shares, which had powered a recent rally, closed lower. Hyundai Motor went down 3.59 percent to 510,000 won, and its affiliate Kia dropped 3.4 percent to 159,000 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,465.9 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 0.28 percent from the previous session of 1,469.95.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys increased 2.8 basis points to 3.137 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds went up 2.3 basis points to 3.42 percent.

Yonhap