What are the Korean Composite Stock Price Indexes?
Korean Composite Stock Price Indexes (KOSPI)refers to a series of indexes that track the overall Korean Stock Exchange and its components. Each of the KOSPI indexes are capitalization-weighted market averages.
The best-known of these indexes is the KOSPI 200, which comprises the 200 largest publicly-traded common stocks traded in Korea, tracking roughly 70% of the market value of the overall Korean Stock Exchange. The KOSPI 200 is used as a rough benchmark when investors or traders refer to the performance of the Korean Exchange. For this reason, and because its components are large-cap stocks, people compare the KOSPI 200to the S&P 500 in the United States.
As of 2021, major KOSPI 200 components included consumer product maker Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix, utility provider Korea Electric Power, and Shinhan Bank.
Understanding the Korean Composite Stock Price Indexes
The Korean Composite Stock Price Indexes (KOSPI) first debuted in the early 1980s, with several variants rolled out in subsequent years, including the KOSPI 100 which focused on mid-caps, and the KOSPI 50 which represents small caps. The KOSPI also refers to a family of indices tracking specific industries including chemicals and banks, and the KODI index, which specializes in dividend stocks. Also, the KOSPI appears on several other products that track the prices of futures, options, and sovereign bonds.
Note that while KOSPI refers to the entire family of indexes, many market participants call the KOSPI 200 simply the KOSPI.
Historyof the KOSPI 200
The KOSPI 200 began trading at the start of January in 1983 at a value of 122.52. Its base value, indexed to January 4, 1980, is 100. The KOSPI 200 rose more than 8-fold to a value of more than 1,000 by April of 1989, roughly two years following the Asian financial crisis. The index value surged to 1,997.06 by its 30th birthday at the end of 2012, trailing only the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Taiwan Stock Exchange over the same time frame. The KOSPI 200 index stood at roughly 2,470 by mid-2018, up more than 20-fold since its introduction.
Notable dates for the KOSPI include June 17, 1988, when it gained about 8.5%, its largest one-day percentage gain. It also fell more than 12% on September 12, 2001, the day following the 9/11 terrorist attack in the U.S. The index closed above 2,000 for the first time on July 24, 2007.
Analysts, market participants, and the international financial news media all follow the KOSPI 200 to varying degrees. U.S.-based news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, as well as London-based Reuters, owned by Canada-based Thomson Reuters, often quote the index and use its values when reporting on market events in Korea.
FAQs
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI)
What is the Korean composite stock price index? ›
The current value of Korea Composite Stock Price Index is 2629.44 KRW — it has risen by 1.45% in the past 24 hours.
What is the Korean Composite Index? ›
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI (Korean: 한국종합주가지수) is the index of all common stocks traded on the Stock Market Division—previously, Korea Stock Exchange—of the Korea Exchange. It is the representative stock market index of South Korea, analogous to the S&P 500 in the United States.
What is the KOSPI index of the Korea Stock Exchange? ›
The KOSPI Index is a capitalization-weighted index of all common shares on the KRX main board. The Index was developed with a base value of 100 as of January 4, 1980. Note: The preferred shares are excluded in calculating the KOSPI Index from June 14, 2002.
What does KOSPI stand for? ›
Korean Composite Stock Price Indexes (KOSPI) refers to a series of indexes that track the overall Korean Stock Exchange and its components. Each of the KOSPI indexes are capitalization-weighted market averages.
What type of index is Kospi 200? ›
The KOSPI 200 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 200 Korean stocks which make up 93% of the total market value of the Korea Stock Exchange.
Which stock index is most expensive? ›
US stocks with the highest price
| Symbol | Price | Market cap |
|---|
| BRK.A D | 611244.00 USD | 875.603 B USD |
| NVR D | 7685.00 USD | 24.577 B USD |
| BKNG Common Stock D | 3414.82 USD | 116.688 B USD |
| SEB D | 3229.56 USD | 3.136 B USD |
32 more rowsA composite index is a statistical tool that groups together many different equities, securities, or indexes in order to create a representation of overall market or sector performance. Composite indexes are used to conduct investment analyses, measure economic trends, and forecast market activity.
What is the difference between composite index and normal index? ›
Like a single index, a composite index is a data structure of records sorted on something. But not like a single index, that something is not a field but rather a concatenation of more than one field.
What is an example of a composite index? ›
An index on two or more columns is called a composite index. For example, the following statement creates a two-column composite index: CREATE INDEX name ON Employees ( Surname, GivenName ); A composite index is useful if the first column alone does not provide high selectivity.
South Korea's efforts to lift its local stock valuations have helped to boost the KOSPI index in Seoul to a more than 20-month high this week.The so-called "Corporate Value-up Program," due...
What is the Korean stock market called? ›
The Korea Stock Exchange is a division of the much larger Korea Exchange (KRX, or the Exchange). Previously, Korea's stock market was a standalone entity. In 2005, the Korea Stock Exchange merged with the Korea Futures Exchange and the electronic market, KOSDAQ, to form the Korea Exchange.
What is the average dividend yield for KOSPI? ›
The Kospi's average dividend yield, 2.2%, is lower than the global market average of 3.3% due to poor dividend payout ratiosd and high valuation, Samsung Securities said.
What is the largest trading company in Korea? ›
POSCO International Corporation (포스코인터내셔널) is South Korea's largest trading company and a subsidiary of POSCO.
What is the biggest market in Korea? ›
As the oldest and biggest market in South Korea, Namdaemun Market dates all the way back to the year 1414. Today, the market remains one of Seoul's most popular attractions with visitors and tourists alike.
Which countries do not have a Stock Exchange? ›
Thus, there is no individual stock exchange on their territories.
- Anguilla (BOT)
- Antigua and Barbuda.
- Dominica.
- Grenada.
- Montserrat (BOT)
- Saint Lucia.
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
How to Invest in the KOSPI. Investors cannot directly invest in the stock index itself. You may buy and sell stocks that are listed on the index, or you may invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the performance of the index.
What country is the S&P TSX composite index? ›
The S&P/TSX Composite is the headline index for the Canadian equity market.
Which country index is set composite? ›
The SET Index is a Thai composite stock market index calculated by the prices of all common stocks (including unit trusts of property funds) on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), except for stocks that have been suspended for more than one year.
