Kospi at over 3-yr high on foreign buying binge, eased uncertainties
South Korea's stock market surpassed the 2,900-point mark for the first time in over three years shortly after it opened Wednesday, driven by a foreign buying binge and hopes over a trade deal between the world's two biggest economies.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index went over the 2,900 mark some 30 minutes after it opened.
It marks the first time the Kospi has breached the threshold since January 2022.
The index had added 29.51 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,901.36 as of 9:50 a.m.
Foreign investors were continuing their purchases of local shares for the sixth consecutive session, buying 99.6 billion won ($73.1 million).
Institutions had also bought 47.2 billion won, while retail investors sold 135 billion won for profit-taking.
Overnight, Wall Street closed higher as US officials signaled progress in trade negotiations between the United States and China.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said talks with China in London "went really, really well," and the two sides agreed on a possible trade framework that could resolve pending trade issues, such as rare earths.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.25 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.55 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.63 percent.
In Seoul, tech behemoth Samsung Electronics increased 1.01 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 3.9 percent as of 9:50 a.m.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor went up 1.78 percent, while its sister Kia climbed 2.01 percent.
Major nuclear power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility also soared 5.62 percent, and Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, advanced 2.4 percent.
Samsung Life Insurance surged 4.99 percent.
On the other hand, some of the big-cap defense and shipbuilding shares were trading lower as investors sought to gain a profit following their rally the previous day.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace lost 1.92 percent, and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy dropped 0.82 percent.
Financial shares were also in negative territory, with KB Financial losing 2.25 percent and Shinhan Financial dipping 1.81 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,363.2 won against the greenback at 9:50 a.m., up 1.1 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
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