The KOSDAQ broke above the 1,200 level in intraday trading as foreign net buying flowed into the market.
According to the Korea Exchange on Thursday, the index crossed 1,200 at 1:19 p.m., rising 25.78 points, or 2.2%, from the previous session to reach 1,200.09. It was the first time in about seven weeks, since March 3, that the KOSDAQ had surpassed the 1,200 mark during trading hours. The index climbed as high as 1,200.14 before fluctuating around the 1,200 level.
Thursday's gain was driven largely by a surge in foreign net buying. As of 1:27 p.m., foreign investors had net purchased 685.7 billion won ($504 million) worth of shares on the KOSDAQ market. Retail investors, meanwhile, net sold 742.2 billion won worth of shares, while institutional investors net bought 74 billion won.
Most top market-cap stocks also posted gains. Ecopro (086520), the largest KOSDAQ stock by market capitalization, was down about 1%, but second-ranked Ecopro BM (247540) rose 0.24%, while Alteogen (196170) climbed 3.64%, Rainbow Robotics (277810) gained 1%, Samchundang Pharm (000250) jumped 6.18%, Leeno Industrial (058470) edged up 0.41%, and ABL Bio (298380) advanced 2.48%.
