KOSPI closes at new high, inches closer to 8,000 mark

KOSPI opened higher Thursday on the back of gains in U.S. technology stocks and extended its upward momentum, closing at another record high and moving closer to the 8,000 mark. The country’s benchmark index opened at 7,873.91, up 29.90 points, or 0.38 percent, from the previous session, and extended its gains to close at 7,981.41, up 137.40 points, or 1.75 percent. At one point during the session, it rose as high as 7,991.04. Overnight, U.S. markets continued to see strong gains in semiconductor stocks despite rising concerns over inflation. The April U.S. producer price index increased 6 percent from a year earlier, largely due to soaring energy costs, marking the sharpest increase since December 2022 and reinforcing worries about persistent inflationary pressure. Still, investor sentiment toward tech shares remained upbeat, helped by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump on his China trip, which began Thursday. Nvidia rose 2.29 percent, Alphabet jumped 3.94 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index advanced 2.57 percent. According to state-run China

Original source: Korea Times