'Fire Column' on the First Day of June... KOSPI Closes at All-Time High

Index Driven Higher by Net Buying from Individuals and Institutions
KOSDAQ Declines... Robot-Themed Stocks Surge

The KOSPI index started rising and surpassed the 8,700 mark for the first time ever. On June 1, 2026, the status of the domestic stock market was displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang

The KOSPI index broke through the 8,800 mark during trading for the first time ever. Institutional investors absorbed all the sell orders from foreigners and individuals, pushing the index higher.

On this day, the KOSPI closed regular trading at 8,788.38, up 3.68% from the previous day. The KOSPI started strong at 8,485.67 and, after surpassing the 8,500 mark for the first time in history, continued its sharp upward trajectory. During trading, it reached as high as 8,874.16.

By investor type, individuals and institutions recorded net purchases of 601.7 billion won and 2.5854 trillion won, respectively. Despite foreigners recording net sales of 3.067 trillion won, these were fully absorbed by the other investors.

There was a stark contrast among industry sectors. IT services (9.55%), telecommunications (6.42%), electrical and electronics (5.19%), insurance (4.24%), and manufacturing (4.11%) each rose more than 4%. In contrast, construction (-4.74%), paper and lumber (-3.77%), medical and precision instruments (-2.71%), non-metallic minerals (-2.66%), transportation and warehousing (-2.38%), and textiles and apparel (-2.34%) declined.

Most of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization also rose. Samsung Electronics, ranked first, surged by a remarkable 10.4%. Samsung Life Insurance (5.5%), Samsung C&T (5.5%), Hyundai Motor (4.1%), SK Square (1.4%), and SK hynix (1.3%) also posted gains. On the other hand, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-5.2%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-1.2%), and Hyundai Mobis (-0.5%) declined.

In contrast, the KOSDAQ could not avoid a downward trend. It closed at 1,050.03, down 2.30% from the previous trading day. After a weak start at 1,072.77 and briefly turning positive, it soon reversed and began to fall. During trading, it dropped as low as 1,043.91.

Foreign investors who sold off KOSPI shares recorded net purchases of 866.7 billion won in the KOSDAQ market. Individuals and institutions recorded net sales of 537.4 billion won and 293.3 billion won, respectively.

Almost all sectors declined. The largest drops were seen in finance (-5.42%), metals (-4.99%), publishing and media reproduction (-4.79%), textiles and apparel (-4.15%), transportation equipment and parts (-3.89%), and general services (-3.53%). Only the machinery and equipment sector rose, up 0.78%.

Most of the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization declined. Peptone (-7.4%), Jusung Engineering (-7.2%), Ecopro (-6.0%), Ecopro BM (-4.8%), and Samchundang Pharm (-3.3%) posted especially large drops. In contrast, Rainbow Robotics (12.8%) and HLB (9.2%) saw significant increases.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.