[DigitalToday reporter Sang-yeop Oh (오상엽)] South Korea's KOSPI on Monday set another record high after a roller-coaster session.

The KOSPI ended up 123.55 points, or 2.11 percent, at 5,969.64.

The index opened up 7.39 points, or 0.13 percent, at 5,853.48. It soon turned lower and slipped to 5,775.61. It later rebounded and quickly widened its gains.

Institutions led the advance, buying 2.3746 trillion won. Foreigners sold 199.2 billion won and individuals sold 2.2808 trillion won.

Wall Street ended lower overnight, leaving the KOSPI shaky early on. But the chip heavyweights hit record highs, and the index also closed at an all-time high.

Samsung Electronics rose 3.63 percent and ended at 200,000 won for the first time. SK hynix gained 5.58 percent to close at 1,005,000 won, reaching the 1 million won mark.

Uncertainty over the AI industry grew after a forecast that AI agents would collapse the software industry and lead to an economic downturn, but hardware shares including Nvidia stayed strong. The fact that TSCM hit a record high in Taiwan also helped sentiment.

Expectations ahead of Nvidia's earnings report early on Feb. 26 Korea time also appeared to have an impact.

It also helped that U.S. stocks rebounded in after-hours trading after President Trump announced a 10 percent global tariff increase, contrary to his threat of raising it to 15 percent.

Among the top 10 KOSPI stocks by market capitalisation, SK Square rose 6.38 percent, LG Energy Solution gained 4.17 percent, Kia added 0.75 percent, Hanwha Aerospace rose 0.4 percent, Samsung Biologics climbed 0.35 percent and Hyundai Motor gained 0.19 percent. Doosan Enerbility fell 0.69 percent.

The Kosdaq ended up 13.01 points, or 1.13 percent, at 1,165.00.