Overview
- South Korea’s total market capitalization reached about 3,972 trillion won in early January, up 76.2% from a year earlier, according to Korea CXO Institute data.
- The Kospi touched an all‑time intraday high of 4,715.75 before easing late morning to 4,680.04, with battery and defense stocks weighing on the index.
- Semiconductor leaders remained pivotal but traded mixed on the day as Samsung Electronics rose about 1% and SK hynix slipped slightly.
- Hanmi Semiconductor climbed over 3% after securing a deal to supply HBM equipment to SK hynix, highlighting ongoing AI‑related investment.
- Market breadth widened with 318 firms now above 1 trillion won in value, and rankings shifted sharply with SK Square, Hanwha Aerospace, and Doosan Enerbility jumping into the top ten.