Kospi breaks 5,000 for first time in historic morning

Korean bourse Kospi broke the 5,000 mark for the first time ever on Thursday morning, straight after opening. As of 9:01 a.m., the Kospi was trading at 5,002.14, up 92.21 points, or 1.88 percent, from the previous session.

Korean bourse Kospi supasses the 5,000 mark for the first time on the morning of Jan. 22, 2026. Numbers are shown at a digital board in Hana Bank in Jung District, central Seoul, as dealers celebrate the historic moment. [YONHAP]

The main Korean bourse broke the 5,000 mark for the first time ever on Thursday morning, straight after opening, before falling to the 4,980-range in the afternoon. The Kospi was trading at 5,002.14 at 9:01 a.m., up 92.21 points, or 1.88 percent, from the previous session. As of 2:20 p.m., it stood at 4,985.17, up 75.24 points, or 1.53 percent, from the previous trading session.

The benchmark index opened at 4,987.06, rose 77.13 points, or 1.57 percent, and continued to gain ground.

With the breakthrough, Korea’s stock market officially hit the landmark 5,000 milestone, a figure once thought of as out of reach.

The new achievement comes less than three months after the index crossed the 4,000-point threshold on Oct. 27, 2025. The Kospi has been on a 12-session winning streak since the start of the year. It had a brief dip on Tuesday but rebounded again the following day.

The Kosdaq also rose 13.21 points, or 1.39 percent, to 964.50.

Overnight, U.S. stocks climbed, recovering a significant portion of losses in the previous session after U.S. President Donald Trump announced progress in negotiations regarding Greenland. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.21 percent, and the S&P 500 added 1.16 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.18 percent.

〈i style=""〉 Updated, Jan. 22, 2025:Added movement through the afternoon.

BY YOON SO-YEON,YONHAP [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]