A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on May 27. [YONHAP]
The benchmark Kospi crossed the 8,400 mark for the first time on Wednesday, rising nearly 5 percent in early trading on the back of strong foreign and institutional buying.
As of 9:20 a.m., the index was up 336.49 points, or 4.18 percent, at 8,384. It opened sharply higher, gaining 2.42 percent to 8,242.12, before extending its gains rapidly as buying momentum built, setting a new all-time intraday high.
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As stocks extended gains, a buy-side trading order, also known as a sidecar in Korea, was activated, and Kospi futures were suspended for five minutes at 9:06 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange.
