The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI (코스피지수) is the index of all common stocks traded on the Stock Market Division—previously, Korea Stock Exchange—of the Korea Exchange. It is the representative stock market index of South Korea, like the S&P 500 in the United States. KOSPI was introduced in 1983 with the base value of 100 as of 4 January 1980. It is calculated based on market capitalization. As of 2007, KOSPI's daily volume is hundreds of millions of shares or (trillions of won). History KOSPI (한국종합주가지수 Hanguk jonghap juga jisu) was introduced in 1983, replacing Dow-style KCSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index). For years, KOSPI moved below 1,000, peaking above 1,000 in April 1989, November 1994, and January 2000. On 17 June 1998, KOSPI recorded its largest one-day percentage gain of 8.50% (23.81 points), recovering from the bottom of the Asian financial crisis. On 12 September 2001, KOSPI had its largest one-day percentage drop of 12.02% (64.97 points) just after 9/11. On 28 February 2005, KOSPI closed at 1,011.36, plunging to 902.88 in April. However, unlike previous bull traps, it kept moving upward, breaking the long-standing 1,000-point resistance level. In November 2005, the index's Korean name was officially changed to Koseupi jisu (코스피지수). On 24 July 2007, KOSPI broke 2,000 level for the first time. On 25 July it closed at 2,004.22. On 20 August 2007, the index recovered 93.20 (5.69%), its largest one-day point gain, after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered the discount rate. On 16 October 2008, the index dropped 126.50 (9.44%), after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7.87%. On 23 November 2020, the index broke the record set in 2018 for the first time at 2,602.59 points, after the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 plunged the KOSPI to a low in March. Record values Starting with February 24th 2020, the index has been dropping continuously during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 15th , the KOSPI closed at 1,771.44, prompting the Financial Supervisory Commission to impose a six-month ban on short-selling, the first such drastic action in nearly nine years. Milestones The following is a timeline on the rise of the KOSPI through korean stock market history. Annual Returns The following table shows the annual development of the KOSPI since 1981. Components As of July 2021, KOSPI has over 880 components. Top 10 stocks by market capitalization are: 005930 Samsung Electronics 000660 SK Hynix 035420