South Korean shares rose for a ninth straight session on Wednesday to close at a new all-time high above the four-thousand-700 mark, lifted by gains in tech and auto stocks.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 30-point-46 points, or zero-point-65 percent, to close at four-thousand-723-point-one.

Trading volume was heavy at 542-point-nine million shares worth 22-point-seven trillion won, about 15-point-four billion U.S. dollars, with gainers outnumbering losers 557 to 334.

Institutional investors bought a net 602-point-one billion won worth of shares, driving the record-setting rally, while foreigners and retail investors offloaded a net 386-point-nine billion won and 432-point-six billion won, respectively.

Samsung Electronics rose one-point-96 percent to 140-thousand-300 won, while SK hynix gained zero-point-54 percent to 742-thousand won. 

Hanmi Semiconductor climbed two-point-66 percent to 177-thousand-800 won after signing a deal to supply high-bandwidth memory equipment to SK hynix.

Hyundai Motor advanced one-point-35 percent to 411-thousand-500 won, and Kia jumped five-point-15 percent to 143-thousand won.

Retailer Shinsegae added four-point-25 percent, and cosmetics maker APR rose two-point-91 percent.

Defense shares retreated, with Hanwha Aerospace and LIG Nex1 falling one-point-01 percent and two-point-46 percent, respectively.

The tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell six-point-eight points, or zero-point-72 percent, to close at 942-point-18.

The South Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar by three-point-eight won, trading at one-thousand-477-point-five won as of 3:30 p.m.