An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap) South Korean stocks opened at a new record high Wednesday, driven by strong gains in semiconductor stocks amid renewed tensions in the Middle East in search of a peace deal.
Opening 2.42 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index spiked 372.76 points, or 4.63 percent, to 8,420.27 as of 9:15 a.m.
As stocks extended gains, a buy-side order in the Kospi futures was suspended for five minutes at 9:06 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange.
The index closed at 8,047.51 on Tuesday, surpassing the 8,000-point threshold for the first time in history.
It took just three weeks for the Kospi to climb from the 7,000 level reached on May 6 to the unprecedented 8,000 territory.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record closing highs as investors scooped up AI-related shares, while recent US strikes on Iran dampen prospects for peace in the Middle East.
The S&P 500 gained 0.61 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.19 percent, while chipmaker Micron surged 19 percent to hit $1 trillion in market value for the first time.
In Seoul, market bellwethers Samsung Electronics jumped 7.02 percent and SK hynix spiked 9.99 percent.
Hanmi Semiconductor, a chip manufacturing equipment company, added 1.98 percent, and AI investment firm SK Square surged 12.02 percent.
However, top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.73 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution dropped 0.75 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,506 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 1.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)