The Seoul skyline.
Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images
South Korea’s Kospi hit a fresh record high Thursday, as the region tracked gains on Wall Street and several bourses in Asia resumed trading after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Kospi index jumped 2.84% to a fresh record high, with index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix up 4.14% and 1.48%, respectively.
“After nearly doubling in 2025, Korea is again the leading market in Asia Pacific,” Goldman Sachs wrote in a recent note. “While many investors are asking if they should reduce positions after such strong performance, we think it is still too early.”
The investment bank forecasts 120% growth for Korean equity markets in 2026, after rising 36% in 2025.
The small-cap Kosdaq advanced 4.68%.
Australia’sย S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.93%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.72%, while the Topix rose 1.12%.
Hong Kong and mainland China markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year break.
Overnight in the U.S., theย S&P 500ย moved higher, supported by gains in key technology names, as traders weighed theย release of the minutesย from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting.
The broad-based index climbed 0.56% to end at 6,881.31, while theย Nasdaq Compositeย added 0.78% to settle at 22,753.63. Theย Dow Jones Industrial Averageย added 0.26% to close at 49,662.66.
โCNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
