KOSPI breaks through the 4,500-point mark for the first time, mainly driven by individual investors... SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics' stock prices hit record highs again.

KOSPI(KOSPI) closed above the 4,500-point mark for the first time in history on January 6, 2026. Driven by large-scale buying by individual investors, the index turned to an upward trend during the trading session, with the stock market showing a clear momentum, jumping over 100 points in just one day.

On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 4,525.48 points, up 67.96 points(1.52%) from the previous trading day. Although it opened lower and briefly fell below 4,400 points in the morning, the market mood changed dramatically in the afternoon, and the gains widened. After breaking through 4,300 points on the 2nd of this month, it surpassed 4,400 points the day before, and just a day later, it again reached the high of 4,500 points. This indicates that the upward momentum in the market is rapidly spreading.

Leading the market are individual investors. On that day, net purchases by individual investors on the Korea Exchange reached as high as 5,963 billion KRW, driving the index higher. In contrast, foreign investors and institutional investors net sold 6,302 billion KRW and 664 billion KRW respectively, taking profits. Notably, institutional investors briefly turned to net buying during the session but then reverted to net selling, showing a volatile pattern.

Among the top market cap stocks, SK Hynix showed strong upward momentum. On that day, news broke that the company unveiled its next-generation high-bandwidth memory(HBM) product HBM4 at CES 2026, the world’s largest electronics show opening in Las Vegas, USA. There were also reports that its CEO, Guo Lujeng, would meet with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, which helped push its stock price intraday above 720,000 KRW, setting a new all-time high. Samsung Electronics also turned to an upward trend during the session, rising to 139,300 KRW, also hitting a new record high.

By industry, the buying momentum spread to semiconductors, secondary batteries, shipbuilding, and other sectors. Especially influenced by Tesla’s soaring stock price in the New York stock market, domestic secondary battery stocks such as LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI also rose in tandem. Hyundai Heavy Industries gained over 3% on news of large-scale orders, while Hyundai Motor hit a 52-week high in early trading after announcing a partnership with Google. Securities stocks also performed strongly, with Kiwoom Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, and others rising 6% to 12%.

On the other hand, the KOSDAQ index(KOSDAQ) experienced profit-taking selling and closed slightly lower. The KOSDAQ index, which hit a four-year high the previous day, fell 0.16% to 955.97 points on that day. Foreign investors and institutional investors net sold 3,448 billion KRW and 310 billion KRW respectively, while individual investors net bought 3,821 billion KRW to offset. Some secondary battery stocks, as well as pharmaceutical and biotech stocks, rose, but some tech stocks declined.

This stock market trend indicates that active investor sentiment may continue in the short term. Factors such as expanding global semiconductor demand, growth expectations for eco-friendly vehicles and secondary battery industries, and the recovery momentum in shipbuilding are creating a favorable environment for the Korean stock market. However, how long the buying momentum centered on individual investors can last and whether foreign investors’ withdrawals will halt in the short term remain key variables in assessing future market volatility.