Seoul shares rallied on Thursday to a sixth record close this month as Daiwa Shipbuilding gained after posting a surge in operating profit, while Samsung Electronics and POSCO jumped ahead of their earnings results.
The KOSPI ended above 1,900 points, a level it had breached briefly in the prior session, even after the finance minister told investors to be cautious about the rally and even after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates for the first time in 11 months.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.05 percent to end at 1,909.75 points, marking its sixth record close in the past seven sessions. The index had gained to an all-time high of 1.922.25. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd rose 1.73 percent to 646,000 won POSCO ended up 3.55 percent at 510,000 won.