KOSDAQ market stages strong performance

South Korea's tech-heavy secondary stock market has staged a robust performance this year on expectations of upward momentum following the government's policy pledge to support financial technology, data showed Tuesday.

The tech-laden KOSDAQ index rose 1.77 points, or 0.31 percent, to end at 574.76 on Monday, extending its winning streak to four sessions, according to the data by the Korea Exchange.

The Monday closing index marks the highest since Sept. 25, 2014, when the comparable figure was 583.66 points

The rise also pushed up its total market cap to a new record 152 trillion won ($140 billion).

The index has rallied since late December, jumping more than 6 percent this year, while the main bourse, the KOSPI, has edged up 0.28 percent.

The bullish mode in the KOSDAQ came as expectations for the government's strong policy push to support financial technology whetted investor sentiment, analysts said.

For one, a subindex measuring stocks of software and IT service firms stood at 2,145.09 points Monday, the highest since the 2008 financial crisis. The index has soared more than 12 percent this year.

The South Korean government is looking to boost the country's flagging financial industry through information technology in financial services, dubbed fintech.

Global tech players, such as Alibaba and Google, are actively making inroads into the financial market with multiple IT technology-backed  services ranging from money transfer to insurance.

Institutions' buying streak of shares on the KOSDAQ market also has lent support to driving up the secondary bourse, analysts added.

Since the beginning of this year, they have extended their buying to an eighth day, whereas foreigners, who had been the main contributor of the KOSDAQ's gains, took the opposite position.

"The KOSDAQ market has attracted investors' interest as the main bourse has suffered a protracted slump," said Lee Kyong-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "Also, policy hopes for fintech and others have boosted investor sentiment." (Yonhap)