This was largely due to alleviated worries about inflation, in line with overnight gains on Wall Street due to an upbeat report on U.S. consumer prices coupled with a recent fall in global crude oil prices.

But above all it was foreign investors who played a major role in pushing the figures further into record high territory as they posted a net purchase of over W300 billion (US$1=W1,047) worth of shares.

Except for paper and lumber business shares, growth occurred in all sectors with steel and tech exporters such as POSCO and LG Electronics jumping 5 percent and 6 percent respectively.

Finance and shipyard stocks also finished higher. Samsung Securities gained 4 percent to end at W760,000 while Hyundai Heavy Industries inched up 1 percent to W354,000.

Experts warned of the possibility of a short-term bull run as risk factors such as fluctuating oil prices abound.

However, it is projected that the KOSPI is likely to continue its upward momentum reaching as high as the 1,950 mark by second quarter of this year, backed by the positive effect of the local currency's depreciation and the boosting of export-oriented shares and most blue chips.

Arirang News