The KOSPI surged more than 5 percent on Monday and ended above 6,930 for the first time on a closing basis. Cash on the sidelines continued to flow into the market, and the market value of the top 10 conglomerate groups also rose above 4,000 trillion won.

The KOSPI ended the session up 338.12 points, or 5.12 percent, at 6,936.99. It opened up 184.06 points, or 2.79 percent, at 6,782.93 and broke its previous intraday record of 6,750.27 set on April 30 after 1 trading day.

Funds around the stock market are also increasing quickly. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, investor deposit balances stood at 1,297.321 trillion won as of April 29, the highest level in about 2 months since March 6.

The outstanding balance of credit provision reached 360.683 billion won, extending record highs for 8 consecutive sessions and showing that sidelined funds and leverage funds were rising at the same time.

The size of major domestic groups also grew in tandem. According to the Korea Exchange, as of 2 p.m. on Monday the combined market capitalisation of the top 10 groups was 4,050.1771 trillion won, up 1,734.9873 trillion won from the end of last year, an increase of 74.9 percent.

It also grew by more than 200 trillion won compared with the previous session on April 30, and the combined market value of Samsung Group and SK Group stood at 3,022.0781 trillion won, above 3,000 trillion won.

By investor type, individuals net sold 47.904 trillion won, while foreign investors and institutions net bought 30.034 trillion won and 19.353 trillion won, respectively, leading the sharp rise in the index.

Most top market-cap stocks ended higher. Samsung Electronics rose 5.44 percent to 232,500 won, and SK Hynix jumped 12.52 percent to 1,447,000 won. SK Hynix also briefly surpassed 1,000 trillion won in market capitalisation during the session.

Elsewhere, SK Square climbed 17.84 percent, LG Energy Solution gained 2.50 percent, Hyundai Motor rose 1.51 percent, Doosan Enerbility added 0.08 percent, Hanwha Aerospace gained 3.39 percent, and Samsung Biologics rose 1.02 percent.

In contrast, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 0.73 percent.

The Kosdaq also ended up 20.91 points, or 1.75 percent, at 1,213.26. Foreign investors were the sole net buyers with purchases worth 555.3 billion won, lifting both benchmarks.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won ended 10.20 won higher at 1,465.30 per dollar.