Kospi finally reclaims 7,000 after monthlong wait; retail investors dump 16.8tr won

Kospi reclaimed the 7,000 level based on its closing price Wednesday, marking the first time in 33 trading sessions. Institutional investors led the index's rise, while retail investors extended a heavy net-selling streak to a fifth consecutive session.

According to the Korea Exchange, Kospi closed at 7,051.64, up 97.12 points, or 1.40 percent, from the previous session. This was the first time the index closed above the 7,000 mark since July 23, when it ended at 7,096.89.

The index opened at 6,972.87, up 18.35 points, or 0.26 percent, from the prior close, and extended its gains through the session, rising as high as 7,112.48 during trading.

Institutional investors led the rally. On the KOSPI, institutions posted net purchases of 941.7 billion won ($702 million), while other corporate investors also bought a net 1.78 trillion won. Retail and foreign investors posted net sales of 2.29 trillion won and 427.1 billion won, respectively.

Retail investors extended their selling streak to a fifth consecutive session, with total net sales reaching 16.84 trillion won over the period.

The day's gains were driven by the continued "Astra effect" from OpenAI's new AI model, which has boosted related stocks on Wall Street. Renewed confirmation of expanding AI demand at Citigroup's Technology, Media and Telecom conference and the Goldman Sachs conference also lifted investor sentiment toward semiconductor stocks.

"Despite unstable external conditions, the continued Astra effect from OpenAI's GPT-6, along with the renewed emphasis on AI growth potential and demand momentum highlighted at Citigroup's TMT conference and the Goldman Sachs conference, acted as upward pressure on related sectors," said Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities.

Among the top market-cap stocks, SK hynix closed up 3.51 percent at 1.86 million won. Samsung Electronics ended the session flat at 269,500 won.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics (2.48 percent), Hyundai Motor (0.78 percent) and Samsung Biologics (0.83 percent) also rose. KB Financial Group (-0.98 percent), Samsung C&T (-1.57 percent) and Samsung Life (-1.46 percent) fell.

The Kosdaq index closed at 830.37, up 18.49 points, or 2.28 percent, from the previous session.

The index opened at 815.06, up 3.18 points, or 0.39 percent, from the prior close, then expanded its gains to more than 2 percent.

On the Kosdaq, foreign investors posted net purchases of 226.9 billion won. Retail and institutional investors posted net sales of 214.6 billion won and 19.7 billion won, respectively.

Among the top market-cap stocks, Alteogen (0.90 percent), Ecopro (7.03 percent) and Ecopro BM (9.64 percent) rose. HLB (-0.47 percent), PharmaResearch (-0.81 percent) and Peptron (-0.48 percent) fell.