KOSPI closes above 4,500 for first time

Jan 07, 2026, 08:05 am

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Traders work at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Jan. 6, as the KOSPI closed above the 4,500 mark for the first time. / Yonhap

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index closed above the 4,500 mark for the first time on record on Tuesday, extending gains led by heavyweight stocks.

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI finished the session up 1.52 percent at 4,525.48, after moving between an intraday low of 4,395.00 and a high of 4,525.48.

All of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization ended higher. Samsung Electronics rose 0.58 percent, while SK hynix surged 4.31 percent. LG Energy Solution added 1.75 percent, Samsung Electronics preferred shares gained 0.49 percent, and Samsung Biologics advanced 0.47 percent. Hyundai Motor climbed 1.15 percent, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries jumped 7.21 percent, SK Square rose 3.85 percent, Doosan Enerbility gained 3.25 percent, and Hanwha Aerospace advanced 0.99 percent.

The tech-heavy KOSDAQ index, however, slipped 0.16 percent to close at 955.97, after trading between 950.07 and 960.35 during the session.

Among KOSDAQ’s top stocks, Alteogen rose 1.17 percent, EcoPro BM gained 1.78 percent, EcoPro climbed 3.67 percent, and HLB added 1.30 percent. In contrast, ABL Bio fell 5.19 percent, Rainbow Robotics dropped 3.46 percent, LigaChem Bio slid 0.45 percent, Peptron declined 1.55 percent, Samchundang Pharm lost 2.56 percent, and Kolon TissueGene fell 3.62 percent.

In the foreign exchange market, the won weakened slightly. As of 3:30 p.m., the won-dollar rate stood at 1,445.5 won per dollar, up 1.7 won from the previous session.

#KOSPI #KOSDAQ #record close #Korean stock market #Korea Exchange