Seoul's benchmark Kospi index briefly topped 6,700 points on Tuesday, hitting a new intraday record driven by large-cap tech shares. The gain came ahead of first-quarter earnings from US big tech firms such as Alphabet and Meta. As of 9:15 a.m., the Kospi stood at 6,656.05, up 41.02 points or 0.62 percent.
Seoul's Kospi index hit a record high early Tuesday, briefly surpassing 6,700 points around 10 a.m., as reported by Yonhap News Agency. Investors adopted a wait-and-see stance ahead of first-quarter earnings from the Magnificent 7 US tech firms, including Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Meta.
The benchmark rose 41.02 points, or 0.62 percent, to 6,656.05 as of 9:15 a.m., following an opening gain of 0.48 percent to 6,646.8. It had closed at a record 6,615.03 the previous session. Overnight, Wall Street indexes ended mixed, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edging higher to new highs.
Most large-cap shares traded higher. SK hynix advanced 1.86 percent, while Samsung Electronics dipped 0.78 percent. LG Energy Solution rose 1.94 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 1.34 percent, and KB Financial fell 0.64 percent.
Amid the Middle East crisis, Brent crude held above $100 per barrel at a three-week high. The White House said US President Donald Trump will meet top national security officials to discuss the stalemate with Iran. Iran's foreign ministry stated its minister met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss "the war and the aggression" by the US and Israel. The Korean won traded at 1,474.1 against the dollar, down 1.6 won.
