An electronic trading board at Hana Bank headquarters in central Seoul shows the benchmark KOSPI closing at 5,846.09 points, Monday, up 37.56 points, or 0.65 percent, from the previous session. The main index briefly broke 5,900 points for the first time in its history. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
The benchmark KOSPI surged past 5,900 points during intraday trading on Monday, moving closer to the unprecedented 6,000-point mark just about a month after finishing above 5,000 points for the first time.
The main index got off to a strong start, rising 1.63 percent to open at 5,903.11 points and quickly climbing to 5,931.86 points, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week against so-called “reciprocal” tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The index later pared gains and closed at 5,846.09 points.
Retail investors were net buyers of more than 1.08 trillion won ($749.39 million) in stocks, while foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of over 1.09 trillion won and 142 billion won, respectively.
Hyundai Motor posted the steepest gain among the top 10 stocks, rising 2.75 percent to 523,000 won after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping duties last Friday.
Sister company Kia gained 0.52 percent to 172,700 won, as the Korean auto industry had been among the hardest hit by the tariffs, which varied by country and product.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.53 percent to 193,000 won, while its rival SK hynix climbed 0.21 percent to 951,000 won.
But some other major stocks retreated, including LG Energy Solution, down 1.37 percent; Samsung Biologics, down 1.09 percent; Doosan Enerbility, down 1.45 percent; and Hanwha Aerospace, down 0.48 percent.
An electronic trading board at Hana Bank headquarters in central Seoul shows the benchmark KOSPI closing at 5,846.09 points, Monday, up 37.56 points, or 0.65 percent, from the previous session. The main index briefly broke 5,900 points for the first time in its history. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Although KOSPI ended the session below 5,900 points, analysts said the 6,000-point milestone could be reached sooner than expected.
They noted that the rise from 5,000 points to 6,000 points has accelerated compared with the previous rise from 4,000 to 5,000 points, which took three months, from Oct. 27, 2025, to Jan. 27.
KOSPI briefly broke above 5,000 points during intraday trading on Jan. 22 before closing at a record-high five days later.
“Investors are expected to focus on the sustainability of this week’s surge in the domestic stock market,” Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said. “Along this trend, KOSPI is expected to attempt to enter the 6,000-point range.”
Jung Eui-jung, head of the Korean Stockholders’ Alliance, speculated that Nvidia’s estimated earnings report on Wednesday is likely to “add to the growth momentum of domestic semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.”
“Given that the two chipmakers account for about one-third of KOSPI’s value, the 6,000-point mark is certainly within reach,” he added.
Meanwhile, experts said Trump’s imposition of new global tariffs at 15 percent is likely to have a limited impact on the Korean stock market, noting that the “reciprocal” tariffs had already been set at the same rate.
“In Korea’s case, the new global tariffs are at the same level as Korea’s existing ‘reciprocal’ tariffs,” SK Securities analyst Kang Dae-seung said.
