South Korea's KOSPI stock index tops 6,000 for first time

SEOUL, Feb 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI stock index topped the 6,000-mark on Wednesday for the first time on a chipmaker rally led by artificial intelligence optimism.

The KOSPI opened the session up 0.89% at 6,022.7, just a month after it breached the 5,000-mark on January 22, as chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose to fresh highs.

The index has risen 43% so far this year, after rising 76% last year, the biggest jump since 1999.

(Reporting by Jihoon LeeEditing by Ed Davies)