KOSPI Breaks Through 2,600 Points in Intra-Day Trading
30 January, 2018
An electronic board shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index closing at 2,598.19 points at KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Monday.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index reached 2,600 points at one point in trading on Monday, around 38 years after it opened at 100 points.
The KOSPI reached 2,607.1 points in intra-day trading but closed at 2,598.19, up a whopping 23.43 points from the previous trading day.
Market insiders project that the KOSPI could reach 3,000 points this year.
Foreign and institutional investors led the buying spree. The head of one foreign hedge fund attributed the upturn to improving export conditions for Korean companies.
"Until last year, only the U.S. market was faring well, but this year both Europe and Asian markets are booming, and they are major export destinations of Korean companies," he said. "That makes Korean stocks more and more attractive."
Another factor is the ebbing of a Bitcoin frenzy, which is sending investors back to conventional assets.
But obstacles remain. The North Korean nuclear threat continues to loom, while chances of economic fluctuations in the U.S. and China also exist. Also, the Korean stock market continues to be polarized between booming blue chips and floundering small-cap shares.
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