Kospi touches fresh near 2-year high

South Korea’s main bourse on Friday hit the highest point in almost two years amid diffused concerns on US rate hikes and continued rallies by Samsung Electronics‘ and other heavyweights.

The Kospi added 14.50 points, up 0.67 percent from the previous session to hit a 23 month high of 2,164.58 points on Friday. 

Top cap Samsung Electronics closed at an all-time high of 2.12 million won ($1,873), up 1.34 percent from the previous day. The company’s shares have been rallying recently by market optimism on robust earnings.

Foreign investors continued to be net-buyers for the 10th day, purchasing a net 250.5 billion won worth of Kospi stocks on Friday.

Overseas investors’ upbeat sentiment can be attributed to a positive evaluation by Moody’s Investors Service, which said the presidential dismissal would form impetus for reform of corporate structure in South Korea, Bae Sung-young, an analyst at KB Securities Co. said.

On Friday, a total of 420 companies listed on the Kospi bourse saw their stock prices up, outnumbering 376 decliners.

Meanwhile, tech-laden Kosdaq inched down by 0.62 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 613.26 points despite strong gains for IT-related companies.

The local currency closed at 1,130.90 won against the US dollar, up 1.1 won from the previous session‘s close.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)