KOSPI Surpasses the 1,500 Mark
For the first time, the KOSPI has exceeded the 1,500 mark. The market on April 9 closed at 1,501.06, which is 16.91 points (1.14%) higher than last Friday (April 6).
The KOSDAQ also rose 4.54 points or 0.68% to 670.54 to surpass the 670 mark for the first time since May 17, 2006, when it was 671.24. The aggregate value of listed stock combining the Korea Exchange and the KOSDAQ reached 820.385 trillion KRW, the highest point close ever.
It was the first time the KOSPI exceeded the 1,500 mark since January 4, 1980 when the index started to be measured at a floor of 100. In March 31, 1989 it recorded a close of 1,003.31, going beyond the 1,000 mark, and for the next intervening 18 years, it surpassed the 1,000 mark four times.
Investor confidence was boosted thanks to the anticipation of a possible upward revision of the national credit rating stemming from the Korea-U.S. FTA agreement, as well as the expected soft landing of the worlds economy.
Foreign investors in particular continued to buy stocks en masse for five days (trading days counted) in a row, and stock markets in Japan and China rising in tandem led to the greater leap in the Korean stock market.
Today, on average, the Nikkei stock price rose 1.48% to 17,743.76 JPY, a 6-week high, and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.27%.
ssoo@donga.com
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