(News Focus) KOSPI hits 8,000-point milestone, powered by AI optimism, strong earnings
2026.05.15 11:00
(News Focus) KOSPI hits 8,000-point milestone, powered by AI optimism, strong earnings
SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) briefly jumped above 8,000 points for the first time Friday, powered by persistent optimism on artificial intelligence (AI) and handsome earnings on big technology companies.
It just took seven trading sessions for the KOSPI to surge past 8,000 points since it surpassed 7,000 points on May 6. The index hit a fresh peak of 8,001.4 at 9:15 a.m. but pared gains in early morning trade.
Heavy bets on AI-related stocks, including Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., have taken the index to a new record, although some analysts have warned of a potential bubble from the new technology.
Supercharged by the AI boom, shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have recently propelled the KOSPI to new highs.
As of Friday, the KOSPI had surged about 90 percent from the start of this year, making it the best performing index in the world.
The market capitalization of Korean stock markets surpassed 7,000 trillion won (US$4,672 billion) last week. In particular, the combined market value of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix exceeded 3,000 trillion won.
The KOSPI broke above the 3,000 mark on June 20, 2025 and surpassed 4,000 points on Oct. 27, 2025.
On Jan. 22, it hit 5,000 points in intraday trading, and touched 6,000 points on Feb. 25 and 7,000 points on May 6.
For local investors, the KOSPI had once been nicknamed the "Boxpi," due to its narrow range of trading.
However, the rapid rise may have changed the fundamentals of local stock markets, some analysts said.
Choi Hyun-jae, a senior researcher at Yuanta Securities Korea, said the KOSPI's surge has represented a "sea change" of the Korean stock market.
Helped by the AI-driven rally on semiconductor stocks, Choi expected the KOSPI to continue its record-setting run this year, potentially a bull market forecast of 10,000 points.
Other analysts agreed that the KOSPI has even more room to gain because of its "structural change."
Park Yeon-joo, a senior analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said the KOSPI's surge represented handsome profits earned by the Korean semiconductor industry.
Park said profits for AI-related stocks were expected to rise as demand for AI data centers has continued to grow.
Lee Jong-hyung, a senior analyst at Kiwoom Securities Co., said, "With the KOSPI breaking above 8,000 points, it is interpreted as a result of structural changes in our stock market."
The bull market has been supported by strong earnings by major chipmakers as well as structural policy changes on stock markets, Lee said.
(END)
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