Korean Stocks Rally to Fresh Record Highs

2026-01-16 01:37 By Mariene Camarillo 1 min. read

The benchmark KOSPI appreciated 0.90% to close at 4,840 on Friday, extending gains for a sixth consecutive session, supported by positive cues from overnight trading on Wall Street.

US equities finished higher after Taiwan-based chipmaker TSMC posted stronger-than-expected earnings, reinforcing optimism about sustained demand for advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The index surpassed the 4,800-point mark for the first time, continuing South Korea’s bullish streak with new record highs nearly every day since the start of the year.

Chipmakers and energy stocks led the advance, with Samsung Electronics (+3.51%), SK Hynix (+0.93%), Doosan Enerbility (+3.13%), and LG Energy Solution (+0.26%) among the top performers.

Meanwhile, Naver (-1.01%), Kakao Corp (-2.05%), and NCSoft (-3.48%) fell after their respective subsidiaries failed to make the shortlist in a government-led program to select developers of homegrown artificial intelligence foundation models.



News Stream
South Korean Shares Rise Over 2%
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