Seoul: South Korean stocks rose for the fourth consecutive session Thursday to climb to a near four-year high, driven by overnight gains in U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia that lifted semiconductor shares. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 49.49 points, or 1.58 percent, to close at 3,183.23, marking the highest closing level since Sept. 7, 2021, when the index finished at 3,187.42. The KOSPI also extended its winning streak to a fourth straight session, which began Monday.
The stock market's total market capitalization reached an all-time high of 3,020.8 trillion won after the market closed, breaking down to 2,603.7 trillion won for the main KOSPI market and 413.9 trillion won for the secondary KOSDAQ market. Trade volume was moderate at 589.8 million shares worth 14 trillion won (US$10.2 billion), with gainers beating decliners 597 to 287.
Foreign and institutional investors led the rally, scooping up a net 445.8 billion won and 41.6 billion won worth of stocks, respectively. Individuals dumped a net 560 billion won. In the U.S. market, Nvidia became the world's first company to hit $4 trillion in market value on Wednesday, pushing up the tech-heavy Nasdaq to an all-time high.
In Seoul, semiconductor and internet shares were among the biggest winners. SK hynix, a key supplier to Nvidia, jumped 5.69 percent to 297,000 won, and Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, gained 0.99 percent to 61,000 won. Naver, the No. 1 internet platform company, increased 2.17 percent to 259,500 won, and its rival Kakao climbed 0.50 percent to 60,800 won.
Pharmaceutical stocks also finished in positive territory, with industry leader Samsung Biologics surging 6.09 percent to 1,080,000 won, while SK biopharm advanced 5.54 percent to 99,000 won. Samyang Foods, best known for its global hit Buldak spicy ramyeon, added 1.28 percent to a record 1,498,000 won.
However, Hybe, the management agency behind global superstars BTS, fell 0.9 percent to 274,500 won as its founder Bang Si-hyuk is set to face criminal charges for allegedly engaging in illegal transactions ahead of the company's initial public offering in 2020. The local currency was quoted at 1,370.0 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 5.0 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 4.5 basis points to 2.433 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds decreased 4.4 basis points to 2.592 percent.