KOSPI extends relentless rally to fresh intraday record high… Samsung Electronics and SK hynix also set new peaks

The KOSPI set a new all-time intraday high.

As of 11 a.m. on the 8th, the KOSPI was trading at 4,611.72, up 60.66 points (1.33%) from the previous session.

The index opened at 4,531.46, down 19.6 points (0.43%) from the prior day, but soon reversed course and extended gains. At one point after the open, it climbed as high as 4,622.32, rewriting the intraday record.

Retail investors were net buyers of 291.7 billion won. Foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 78.2 billion won and 300.5 billion won, respectively.

In the KOSPI market, top blue chips Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, buoyed by strong earnings amid a semiconductor super-rally, again set new all-time highs.

Samsung Electronics was up 1.13% at 142,600 won. It earlier rose to as high as 144,500 won. SK hynix was trading up 4.99% at 779,000 won. It at one point surged to 788,000 won, also resetting its record high.

Earlier in the day, Samsung Electronics disclosed preliminary results showing operating profit of 20 trillion won for the fourth quarter of last year, far above market expectations. That marks a 208.2% increase from a year earlier. It breaks its previous record quarterly operating profit of 17.57 trillion won set during the 2018 third-quarter “memory supercycle,” a new high after about seven years.

Revenue also hit a record high at 93 trillion won, up 22.7% from a year earlier and 8.1% from the previous quarter. It is the first time Samsung Electronics’ quarterly revenue has exceeded 90 trillion won.

Beyond the two market heavyweights, other large caps such as Samsung Biologics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Korea Aerospace Industries, Hyundai Mobis, Celltrion, Hyundai Motor and Kia also notched fresh intraday highs.

In contrast, the KOSDAQ showed the opposite pattern. Unlike the KOSPI, the KOSDAQ opened higher but turned weaker after the open. The index was down 2.25 points (0.25%) at 945.14.

Shin Min-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter radio@hankyung.com