South Korean stocks recorded their largest single-day gain in nearly six years on Tuesday, rebounding strongly from the previous session's lows as investors appeared to overlook concerns about the new Federal Reserve chair and engaged in bargain hunting. The South Korean won also strengthened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged by 338.41 points, or 6.84 percent, to close at a record high of 5,288.08, staging a powerful recovery from the previous day's sharp decline. According to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), this represents the index's most significant daily advance since March 24, 2020, when it jumped 8.6 percent. Trading volume was massive, reaching 666.5 million shares, with a transaction value of 29.3 trillion won (approximately $20.3 billion). Advancing shares far outnumbered decliners by a ratio of 825 to 75. The intense buying pressure prompted the Korea Exchange (KRX) to temporarily suspend programmatic buy orders during the morning session. This action came just one day after the exchange had halted programmatic sell orders during the market plunge. The last instance where the Korean stock market triggered circuit breakers for both selling and buying on consecutive days occurred on April 7 and 8 of last year, following former US President Donald Trump's announcement of significant trade measures, noted Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "Since there has been no change in the market's fundamentals, the benchmark index rebounded driven by bargain-hunting," he stated. In a similar vein, JPMorgan Chase & Co. released a report on Tuesday raising its target for the KOSPI to a range of 6,000 to 7,500 points, citing strong performance in other sectors such as defense and shipbuilding. Large-cap stocks closed higher across the board on Tuesday. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics saw its shares skyrocket 11.37 percent to 167,500 won, while its rival SK Hynix also climbed 9.28 percent to 907,000 won. Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace advanced 4.84 percent to 1,299,000 won; automaker Hyundai Motor increased 2.82 percent to 491,500 won; and major financial group KB Financial Group closed up 3.81 percent at 138,800 won. As of 3:30 PM local time, the won was trading at 1,445.4 against the US dollar, appreciating by 18.9 won from the previous trading session.
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