Kospi Rips Past 2% Even as the Central Bank Hikes Again

Kospi's sitting at 6,947.80 right now, up 2.05%, with Kosdaq tagging along at 833.30, up 0.78%. Compare that to my last check-in and Kospi's tacked on another 0.89 points, Kosdaq 0.73 — if anything the market found more legs around lunchtime. The Bank of Korea just hiked rates to 3% for the second straight time, but Governor Shin Hyun-song framing it as "front-loading now to cut future costs" and hinting the won still has room to strengthen seems to have calmed nerves rather than spooked anyone. Institutions net-bought 761.5 billion won of Kospi names to soak up foreign selling, and with Wall Street closing basically flat overnight (S&P500 -0.02%, Nasdaq -0.08%), today's rally reads as homegrown, not imported. Three hours left before the close — I'm watching whether that institutional buying keeps digesting the rate-hike news or starts to fade.