KOSPI extends record rally late Thu. morning as Samsung projects record Q4 earnings

▲ This photo taken on Jan. 8, 2026, shows the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap

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KOSPI extends record rally late Thu. morning as Samsung projects record Q4 earnings

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares extended gains late Thursday morning, extending a record-setting rally, as investors bolstered technology stocks following a record quarterly earnings estimate released by Samsung Electronics.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 47.96 points, or 1.05 percent, to 4,599.02 as of 11:20 a.m.

The KOSPI briefly topped the 4,600-point mark for a second straight day, touching an intraday high of 4,610.93 and raising the possibility of a close above 4,600 later in the session.

A day earlier, the index rose 0.57 percent to close at an all-time high of 4,551.06 after hitting an intraday high of 4,611.72.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.94 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.16 percent.

Retail investors bought a net 356.96 billion won (US$246 million) worth of stocks, offsetting the net selling by institutions and foreigners of 361.17 billion won and 100.23 billion won, respectively.

Tech, defense and shipbuilding stocks led the gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.71 percent after the chip behemoth projected its fourth-quarter operating profit to have reached a record 20 trillion won, while chip giant SK hynix jumped 5.12 percent.

Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries surged 5.75 percent, while defense giant Hanwha Aerospace soared 9.31 percent on expectations of robust fourth-quarter earnings.

Among decliners, top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.43 percent, and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings declined 1.95 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,449.50 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., down 3.7 won from the previous session.

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