KOSPI surges 2.66% on Wall Street rally, foreign buying

The KOSPI index experienced a significant surge of more than 2 percent on Friday, reaching the 6,890 mark and surpassing it in intraday trading. The main index began the day at 6,885.70, gaining 170.29 points, or 2.54 percent, from the prior close. It momentarily reached a peak of 6,914.08, marking a 2.96 percent increase before settling at 6,894.23, which marked a 2.66 percent rise.

The driving force behind this rally was a Wall Street rebound and an increase in foreign investments. Wealthy foreign and institutional investors contributed to the surge, purchasing a net 438.8 billion won ($317 million) of equities and a net 1.5 trillion won worth of stocks. Conversely, domestic retail investors sold their holdings, netting a loss of 3.59 trillion won.

This marked the first instance of net buying by foreign investors since September 8. The index rebounded after a relatively stable period in the preceding day, despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hike. The local equities benefited greatly from an overnight recovery across all three major U.S. stock indices, further bolstered by falling U.S. Treasury yields and a slowdown in global markets.