[KOSPI Surges Above 2690: Shipbuilding and Power Stocks Lead Market Rally]

# Institutional and Foreign Investors Propelling Gains, KOSDAQ Also Climbs South Korea's domestic stock market showcased robust gains on Monday, despite a recent dip in U.S. markets, driven by strong performances in industrial segments like shipbuilding and power equipment. The KOSPI index surged past the 2,690 mark in early trading. As of 9:21 a.m. local time on October 29, the KOSPI had risen by 24.64 points, or 0.92%, standing at 2,694.79. Institutional investors spearheaded the buying with net purchases of 77.2 billion won, while foreign investors added 15.9 billion won. Conversely, retail investors engaged in net selling, offloading shares worth 102.9 billion won. # Sector and Stock Highlights Construction and financial stocks led the rally, each gaining over 1%. Noteworthy performances were also seen in manufacturing, retail, general services, and IT services sectors. However, telecoms, real estate, and transportation & logistics experienced modest declines. In shipbuilding, industry giants like HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, HJ Shipbuilding, and Hanwha Ocean advanced, significantly boosting market momentum. Additionally, stocks related to electrical power equipment, wind energy, and local currency also showed remarkable strength. Among the top KOSPI listings, SK Hynix and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries each rose by over 2%. Hanwha Aerospace, Kia, and Samsung C&T increased by around 1%. On the downside, LG Energy Solution dropped by more than 1%, while Samsung Electronics and KB Financial Group saw slight declines. Shares of Hyundai Motor, Celltrion, Naver, and Shinhan Financial Group stayed in slightly positive territory. # KOSDAQ Rises Steadily Mirroring the positive sentiment, the KOSDAQ index climbed 4.53 points, or 0.62%, reaching 733.32 during the same timeframe. Foreign investors registered net purchases totaling 37.7 billion won, counteracting the net sales from retail investors (32.7 billion won) and institutions (5.5 billion won). On the sectoral front, manufacturing, construction, retail, and IT services saw modest gains, while financials and entertainment & culture sectors lagged with slight declines. Among notable KOSDAQ names, HLB rose by over 3%, while Rainbow Robotics added more than 2%. Altylogen, Peptron, and Regencem Bio increased by over 1%. Conversely, EcoPro BM dropped more than 2%, and EcoPro and Samchundang Pharm fell over 1%. ABL Bio remained relatively flat. # Foreign Exchange and Cryptocurrency Insights In the forex market, the South Korean won weakened, with the USD/KRW exchange rate beginning weekly trading at 1,380 won, up 3.5 won from the previous session. In cryptocurrency trading, Bitcoin (BTC) on the Upbit exchange gained 0.02%, trading at 150,303,000 won. The domestic "kimchi premium," or the disparity between global and South Korean Bitcoin prices, stood at approximately 1.39%.