KOSPI opens 2026 on buoyant note, hits fresh milestone

Graphics by AJP Song Ji-yoonSEOUL, January 02 (AJP) - South Korean stocks roared into 2026, extending last year’s standout rally, while most Asian markets opened the year on a subdued footing.

In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI jumped 2.3 percent to close at a fresh all-time high of 4,309.63, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ climbed 2.2 percent to 945.57.

Investor sentiment was buoyed by record-high semiconductor exports. Shipments surged 22.2 percent from a year earlier in December to $17.34 billion, setting a new annual high and reinforcing optimism over Korea’s chip-led growth momentum.

Shares of heavyweight chipmakers rallied sharply. Samsung Electronics jumped 7.2 percent to close at 128,500 won ($88.9), while SK hynix advanced 4 percent to 677,000 won, both hitting record highs.

Hyundai Motor gained 0.7 percent to 298,500 won, while HD Hyundai Electric climbed 5.8 percent to 819,000 won.

Celltrion surged 12 percent to end at 202,500 won after the biotech firm projected record fourth-quarter earnings for 2025. On Wednesday, when the market was closed, the company said consolidated fourth-quarter sales are expected to reach 1.2839 trillion won ($888 million), up 20.7 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit is projected to jump 140.4 percent to 472.2 billion won — both all-time quarterly highs.

Kwon Hae-soon, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said Celltrion is likely to deliver earnings that exceed market expectations “thanks to its improved product mix and enhanced cost control,” raising her target price to 250,000 won.

Seo Geun-hee, an analyst at Samsung Securities, also lifted her target price to 230,000 won, citing a recovery in profitability driven by new product growth and strengthening market share in the United States.

LG Energy Solution, the country’s third-largest company by market capitalization, slipped 2 percent to 361,000 won.

Entertainment stocks rallied after news broke that BTS is set to make a full-group comeback on March 20, 2026. HYBE, the group’s agency, jumped 4.9 percent to 346,000 won. JYP Entertainment climbed 6.8 percent to 77,500 won, while YG Entertainment rose 1.4 percent to 70,400 won.

Analysts said entertainment shares were also buoyed by growing expectations that China’s de facto restrictions on Korean cultural content could ease, as President Lee Jae Myung is scheduled to visit China from Jan. 4 to 7 and meet President Xi Jinping on Jan. 5.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 percent to close at 50,339.48, with losses concentrated among heavyweight stocks.

Toyota Motor fell 0.2 percent to 3,356 yen ($21.4), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group edged down 0.1 percent to 2,493 yen, and SoftBank Group declined 1.9 percent to 4,400 yen. Sony Group slipped 0.1 percent to 4,024 yen, Hitachi dropped 0.6 percent to 4,902 yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell 1.6 percent to 5,041 yen.

Fast Retailing, the sixth-largest stock by market capitalization, gained 1 percent to 56,940 yen, while Tokyo Electron, ranked seventh, rose 0.3 percent to 34,320 yen.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 3.72 points to close at 3,968.84.
Lee Jung-woo Reporter cannes2030@ajupress.com