Seoul’s benchmark Kospi touched 8,000 for the first time Friday, buoyed by strong retail buying early in the session.
The Kospi was trading at about 8,034 as of 9:23 a.m., extending gains after first crossing the 8,000 mark about 14 minutes into the session.
The milestone came a day after the index closed just 18.59 points short of 8,000, ending Thursday at a record high of 7,981.41.
Retail investors led the rally, as they have throughout the week, racking up more than 700 billion won ($467.6 million) in net purchases in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreign investors sold roughly the same amount, while institutions were net buyers of about 15 billion won.
The index has raced breathlessly, adding another 1,000 points in just seven trading days after first touching 7,000 pints intraday on May 7.
Individuals have been the main force behind the index’s ascent, with foreigners selling Korean stocks since May 7, according to the Korea Exchange. Overseas investors have offloaded a net 27 trillion won during the seven-session streak.
The Kosdaq, which opened the session 0.52 percent higher at 1,197.23, was trading around 1,186 shortly afterward.
The Korean won opened sharply weaker, losing 3.2 won against the US dollar to 1,494.2 won, amid deepening concerns over global inflation.
jwc@heraldcorp.com