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| Dealers work at the headquarters of the KEB Hana Bank in central Seoul, Thursday, as the KOSPI started strong and exceeded the 2,000 mark for the first time since early March. / Yonhap |
By Anna J. Park
Korea's benchmark KOSPI closed at 1,998.31, Thursday, up 8.67 points or 0.44 percent from the previous trading day, reflecting investors' optimism toward a global economic recovery.
Individual investors and foreigners led the market's rally as they posted net buying of 290.4 billion won ($236 million) and 77 billion, respectively.
The KOSPI started strong in the morning hitting 2,003.20, up 13.56 points, or 0.68 percent from the previous day. The benchmark index exceeded the 2,000 mark for the first time since the market closed at 2,040.22, March 6. The index began to nosedive from March 9 when the index fell 4.19 percent, ending down at 1,457.64 in mid-March.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also continued its rally to finish at 716.02, up 7.26 points or 1.02 percent from the previous day. The index exceeded the 700 mark Wednesday, and is currently at its highest since last June.
"Despite lingering short-term uncertainties, there's room for a further increase during the second half of the year," Ha In-hwan, an analyst at Meritz Securities, told The Korea Times.
"It is significant that a very strong level of policy responses are buttressing the situation, amid the shocks from both the real and financial markets due to COVID-19. Although companies' results during the first half weren't good, it is widely expected that market situations will generally improve during the latter half," the analyst explained.
Another analyst also shared the rosy outlook for the markets predicting that the uptrend will likely continue for a while.
"It is a favorable sign that investors' preference for risk assets have increased, along with heightened expectations for economic recovery, as all 50 U.S. states have now partially reopened," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
