▲ A dealing room at Hana Bank in central Seoul on Feb. 13, 2026 (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-summary

(LEAD) KOSPI snaps 4-day winning streak despite briefly touching new high

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed lower Friday, snapping a four-day winning streak despite briefly touching a fresh high during midday trading as investors braced for a five-day closure of the market for the Lunar New Year holiday. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 15.26 points, or 0.28 percent, to end at 5,507.01, after reaching a record high of over 5,580 during intraday trading.

Trade volume was heavy at 1.28 billion shares worth 30.3 trillion won (US$21 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 545 to 336.

Foreigners sold a net 974.1 billion won worth of local shares, offsetting 708.4 billion won and 82.4 billion won net purchases by retail investors and institutions, respectively.

Overnight, major U.S. indexes lost ground on concerns related to the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on various industries, such as software.

"Investors moved to take profit following a bullish run this week ahead of next week's extended market holiday in Korea," Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, noting that the KOSPI's momentum is unlikely to be easily undermined.

South Korea's stock markets will be closed through Wednesday for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Despite the KOSPI's fall, tech giant Samsung Electronics increased 1.46 percent to reach its highest-ever figure of 181,200 won, with preferred stocks of the company soaring 4.5 percent to 127,600 won.

Power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility rose 1.26 percent to 96,700 won.

Securities firms, in particular, delivered a strong performance on expectations for shareholder return policies, with Shinyoung Securities surging more than 17 percent to 227,500 won and Mirae Asset Securities shooting up 15.36 percent to 61,600 won.

Leading mobile carrier SK Telecom soared 10.9 percent to 86,500 won, and Korea Aerospace Industries jumped 6.77 percent to 176,700 won.

But most big-cap shares lost ground.

Major chipmaker SK hynix dropped 0.9 percent to 880,000 won, and auto giant Hyundai Motor dipped 1.38 percent to 499,000 won.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 3.66 percent to 395,000 won, while defense giant Hanwha Aerospace slid 2.3 percent to 1.1 million won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,444.9 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 4.7 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys dropped 1.2 basis points to 3.142 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds lost 2.6 basis points to 3.397 percent.

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