The KOSPI index surpassing 6,700-point level is shown on a screen inside the dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Seoul stocks closed at an all-time high Tuesday, briefly topping 6,700 for the first time in history, driven by large-cap tech shares ahead of earnings releases from big U.S. tech companies.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 25.99 points, or 0.39 percent, to 6,641.02, after hitting an intraday high of 6,712.73 points in the morning session.
The new peak came ahead of first-quarter earnings releases from the Magnificent 7 (M7) companies in the United States, including Apple, Microsoft and Meta.
The benchmark index had risen by some 31 percent in the month of April, the second-largest monthly increase since February 1988.
The market's record-breaking run came after the market experienced a severe rout since the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Since the crisis started in late February, the KOSPI had once fallen by more than 12 percent in a single trading session, amid fears of the war's impact on Korea's oil dependent economy.
It was one of the worst performing stock indexes globally, falling by over 19 percent for the month of March.
After surpassing the 5,000-point mark in late January, and topping another milestone of 6,000 points in February, the KOSPI erased most of its gains in March following the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war.
But continued hope for the artificial intelligence (AI) boom pushed up major tech shares amid eased tension in the Middle East war.
Source: Korea Times News
