Korean stocks break above 9,000 for the first time; KOSPI jumps 2.25%

Korean stocks surged more than 2% on Thursday, with the KOSPI breaking above 9,000 for the first time in history. Market sentiment improved sharply, supported by the Fed's hawkish stance, uncertainty over Iran, and buying in chip stocks.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 199.6 points, or 2.25%, at 9,063.84, after touching an intraday high of 9,106.07.

Boosted by optimism around artificial intelligence (AI) and related industries, the index has risen for six straight trading days.

Trading volume was huge, reaching 505.9 million shares, with turnover of 49.9 trillion won (about $32.7 billion). Foreign investors were net buyers of 1.3 trillion won, while retail and institutional investors together were net sellers of 1.2 trillion won.

Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said the rising share prices of Korea's two chip giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, were the main driver of KOSPI's continued gains.

He noted that investors expect semiconductor companies may gain stronger pricing power because of ongoing supply bottlenecks.

At the same time, risk appetite recovered somewhat as the market expected the U.S.-Iran war to be nearing an end. The Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged for a fourth straight meeting, but the impact on investor sentiment was limited.