(LEAD) Seoul stocks open at fresh high of over 4,800 as rally enters 11th day

▲ This photo shows the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-open

(LEAD) Seoul stocks open at fresh high of over 4,800 as rally enters 11th day

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest numbers from 2nd para; CHANGES photo)

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened at a record high Friday, with the benchmark index rising above 4,800 points for the first time as it enters the 11th straight session of gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 9.81 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,807.36 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The index started at 4,820.66, piercing the 4,800-point threshold for the first time in its history, but trimmed earlier gains.

The South Korean stock market has been on a bullish run, reaching fresh highs daily since the start of the year.

Overnight, Wall Street finished higher as Taiwan-based chipmaker TSMC's blockbuster results boosted shares of U.S. chipmakers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.25 percent.

In Seoul, market heavyweights traded in mixed terrain.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.9 percent, but its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 0.13 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.36 percent, but its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis declined 1.78 percent.

Naver and NCSOFT fell 0.81 percent and 2.97 percent, respectively, after their subsidiaries were eliminated from the government-led competition in selecting developers for homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models the previous day.

The local currency was trading at 1,471.9 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 2.2 won from the previous session.

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