SEOUL, May 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's benchmark KOSPI stock index surpassed the 7,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The KOSPI stood at 7,248.24 as of 9:02 a.m. local time, up 311.25 points, or 4.49 percent, from the previous session.

The index opened at 7,093.01, up 156.02 points, or 2.25 percent, marking the first time it had crossed the 7,000-point threshold after topping 6,000 for the first time on Feb. 25. ■