▲ The closing benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index is shown on a screen inside the dealing room of Woori Bank in central Seoul on Feb. 4, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-summary

(LEAD) KOSPI tops 5,300 on AI optimism, market reform hopes

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields in bottom)

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks set a record high again Wednesday, topping the 5,300-point landmark for the first time, as investors continued to snatch up artificial intelligence (AI)-related shares. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 83.02 points, or 1.57 percent, to 5,371.1.

After choppy trading, the index gathered ground on strong buying by institutional investors, who purchased a net 1.8 trillion won (US$1.2 billion).

Foreigners and retail investors were net sellers, offloading 940 billion won and 1 trillion won of equities, respectively.

Trade volume was heavy at 781 million shares worth 30.1 trillion won. Winners outnumbered losers 747 to 156.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fell amid renewed concerns over the AI sector, following reports that suggested Nvidia and OpenAI may be at odds over their $100 billion data center deal.

AI startup Anthropic's new chatbot plug-in, designed to support core legal tasks, sent tech shares downward amid concerns that AI technology could reshape the software industry.

"Neither of the two factors are reasons that can deteriorate AI demand," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst from Daishin Securities, said. "Rather, it represents the market's adaptation to changes in the AI industry, the interests of companies in the AI sector and their profit models."

Persisting AI optimism gave a boost to sectors related to AI infrastructure here, including nuclear energy, electronics and semiconductors, Lee added.

Investor sentiment was further boosted by anticipations that the government's capital market reform measures may take effect soon, Lee explained.

The ruling Democratic Party's floor leader on Wednesday vowed to swiftly push forward related legislation, including a third round of revisions to the Capital Markets Act.

Most large-cap shares closed higher.

Semiconductor giant Samsung Electronic added 0.96 percent to 169,100 won, while its rival SK hynix inched down 0.77 percent to 900,000 won.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 2.94 percent to 402,500 won, and nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility jumped 5.81 percent to 96,500 won, while portal operator Naver shed 1.67 percent to 264,500 won.

Hanwha Solutions, a solar module manufacturer of Hanwha Group, shot up to its daily permissible limit and closed at 36,450 won, after its U.S. arm inked an energy storage supply (ESS) deal with LG Energy Solutions.

The local currency was quoted at 1,450.2 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 4.8 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 2.3 basis points to 3.212 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds added 3.8 basis points to 3.533 percent.

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