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| ▲ This photo taken on Jan. 9, 2026, shows the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
stocks-summary
Seoul shares hit another record high, just shy of 4,600
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares extended their rally to a sixth session Friday, setting a fresh record high backed by a rise in auto, defense and shipbuilding stocks. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 33.95 points, or 0.75 percent, to finish at 4,586.32, inching toward 4,600. The index has risen 6.4 percent this week.
Trade volume was heavy at 388.37 million shares worth 23.04 trillion won (US$15.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 537 to 340.
Institutions and individuals bought 1.19 trillion won and 130 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, offsetting foreign selling valued at 1.59 trillion won.
Foreign investors continued to offload local stocks for a second straight session after purchasing 1.25 trillion won worth of stocks on Wednesday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.94 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.16 percent.
The market appeared to take a breather as investors locked in part of their gains, but the KOSPI may test the 4,600-point level depending on fourth-quarter corporate earnings results, analysts said.
"Profit-taking centered on semiconductor stocks kept the index from rising further. The move was in line with declines in U.S. tech stocks," Lim Jung-eun, an analyst at KB Securities Co., said.
Auto, defense and shipbuilding stocks led the gains.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 7.49 percent to 366,000 won.
Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries jumped 4.64 percent to 609,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace soared 11.38 percent to 1,214,000 won.
Korea Aerospace Industries, the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, surged 4.9 percent to 149,800 won, and market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.14 percent to 139,000 won
Among decliners, chip giant SK hynix fell 1.59 percent to 744,000 won.
Leading refiner SK Innovation fell 2.83 percent to 99,700 won, and leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific shed 0.67 percent to 119,200 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,457.60 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 7 won from the previous session.
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