KOSPI eyes 8,700, surpasses 70 trillion won market cap amid tech stock surge

South Korea's KOSPI index surged past the 8,600-point mark on the first trading day of June, setting a new all-time high. The benchmark index continued its upward trend, breaking through both the 8,500 and 8,600 levels in morning trading.

The market's strong performance was significantly influenced by positive developments in the technology sector. Samsung Electronics saw its stock price climb above 330,000 won following news that it was the first in the world to begin sample shipments of its 7th generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), HBM4E. Additionally, anticipation surrounding the visit of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to South Korea fueled a rally in robotics and LG Group-related stocks.

As the KOSPI climbed, its total market capitalization surpassed 70 trillion won for the first time. Individual investors were net buyers, purchasing 391.8 billion won worth of stocks, while institutions also showed strong buying interest with net purchases of 964.8 billion won. Foreign investors, however, were net sellers, offloading 1.345 trillion won.

Among the top 10 KOSPI components, Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, and Hyundai Motor showed significant gains. LG Group stocks, including LG and LG Electronics, also experienced a broad rally. Conversely, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and SK Hynix saw declines. The KOSPI closed the morning session at 8,676.20, up 200.05 points or 2.36% from the previous day.