Kospi closes over 3,000 after Democrats take U.S. Senate

The Kospi closed above the 3,000-threshold for the first time ever on Thursday, backed by strong foreign and institutional buying triggered by U.S. stimulus hopes. The won fell against the dollar.

From left, Korea Investment and Securities CEO Jung Il-mun, Korea Exchange CEO Sohn Byung-doo, Korea Financial Investment Association CEO Na Jae-chul and BooKook Securities CEO Park Hyeon-chul celebrate the Korean benchmark stock index Kospi closing above 3,000 for the first time at the Korea Exchange office in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The Kospi closed above the 3,000-threshold for the first time ever on Thursday, backed by strong foreign and institutional buying triggered by U.S. stimulus hopes. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 63.47 points, or 2.14 percent, to close at 3,031.68 points.

Trading volume was very high at about 1.5 billion shares worth around 26.8 trillion won ($24.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 617 to 220.

Institutions net purchased 1 trillion won while foreigners bought a net 109 billion won. Retail investors offloaded a net 1.2 trillion won.

The Kospi sharply rebounded in the morning after taking a breather the previous session on profit-taking.

Analysts attributed the Kospi's new record finish to foreign and institutional investors, who turned net buyers and broke their selling streak largely on the Democrats' control of the U.S. Senate.

Stocks continued to gain ground amid expectations that the U.S. political paradigm shift would help increase spending to stimulate the world's largest economy and benefit its export-driven trade partners and financial industries.

"With growing expectations of additional stimulus plans in the United States, robust foreign and institutional buying helped the Kospi to remain above the 3,000-point plateau," Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

Major blue chips rose.

Samsung Electronics advanced 0.85 percent to 82,900 won, and chipmaker SK hynix jumped 2.67 percent to a record 134,500 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem soared 8.09 percent to 962,000 won, its all-time high. Rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI added 2.65 percent, also refreshing its record closing at 698,000 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics climbed 0.24 percent to 819,000 won, and Celltrion hiked 1.13 percent to 357,500 won.

Internet portal operator Naver slipped 0.17 percent to 289,500 won, but its rival Kakao moved up 1.77 percent to 402,500 won. The country's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor added 1.48 percent to 206,000 won.

The Kosdaq rose 7.47 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 988.86.

The local currency was trading at 1,087.3 won against the dollar, up 1.7 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The return on the three-year bond gained one basis point to close at 0.963 percent, and the return on the 10-year bond added 8.2 basis points to close at 1.03 percent.

BY CHEA SARAH, YONHAP [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]