(image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s benchmark stock index is expected to break above 2,500 points by the end of this year, in what would be another milestone for the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), analysts said Friday.
The KOSPI closed at an all-time high of 2,484.37 points earlier this week and took a breather as investors opted to cash in part of recent gains.
If the index tops 2,500, the achievement would be on par in signifigance to the bourse pushing above the 2,000 mark on July 25, 2007.
Since then, the index fell to as low as 938.75 on Oct. 24, 2008, hit by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Local market watchers said that while the present North Korea risk is affecting the market, many expected the KOSPI to move up going forward.
However, the local stock market is likely to trade in a narrow range, pressured by rises in interest rates at home and abroad.
Kim Dae-joon, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, said, “The momentum for a rise could be weakened after the KOSPI breaks above 2,500 points.”
On Thursday, the Bank of Korea kept its key interest rate at a record low for 16th consecutive months but signaled it could raise policy rates.
(Yonhap)
