Kospi Soars Towards 7,900 as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Drive AI Memory Rally to New Intraday Highs
The **South Korean benchmark Kospi** experienced a remarkable surge during Monday trading, extending its **blistering rally** and pushing past the 7,800-point mark for the first time. This significant advance, largely fueled by the booming **artificial intelligence (AI) memory market**, has ignited discussions about the index potentially targeting the unprecedented 10,000-point milestone.
Following the **Kospi’s impressive surge** to a new high, global investment bank JPMorgan notably raised its bull-case target for the index to an ambitious 10,000 points – a first-ever projection for this major milestone. The bank also adjusted its base-case scenario to 9,000 points and its bear-case target to 6,000, reflecting the current market dynamics.
JPMorgan emphasized its belief that “it remains appropriate to stay positioned for further upside and not preemptively anticipate a cycle-end” regarding the **AI-driven memory momentum**. They further underscored **South Korea** as their most preferred market within the region, highlighting its robust potential.
Beyond memory sectors, the bank also identified other attractive opportunities, particularly highlighting financial holding companies as key beneficiaries. This positive outlook is supported by banks’ strong earnings momentum and ongoing improvements in corporate governance.
On the same day, **Hyundai Motor Securities** presented an even more bullish outlook, projecting the **Kospi** could potentially climb as high as 12,000 points under a strong year-end scenario, while simultaneously raising their immediate target price to 9,750.
Earlier analyst projections for the **benchmark index** included 9,000 points from NH Investment & Securities and Goldman Sachs, 8,800 from Daishin Securities, and 8,500 from Citigroup, underscoring a widespread optimistic sentiment.
The **Kospi** opened strongly at 7,775.31 points, marking a 3.7 percent gain from the prior session. The **benchmark stock index** quickly extended its advance to over 4 percent, swiftly breaching the 7,800 mark in early trading. After reaching an intraday high of 7,898.71, just shy of the 7,900 threshold, it settled at 7,896.55 by 2:30 p.m., posting an impressive 5.32 percent gain on-session.
Amidst the **sharp market rally**, the bourse operator Korea Exchange initiated a five-minute buy-side sidecar on the main bourse at 9:29 a.m. This measure temporarily halted program-driven buy orders in **Kospi futures**, reflecting the intense buying pressure.
This marked the eighth time a buying curb was triggered on the **Kospi** this year, occurring just three trading sessions after its previous activation on May 6. That earlier instance saw the index break above the 7,000 threshold for the first time, signaling sustained market momentum.
Furthermore, the combined **market capitalization of South Korea’s stock market** soared past 7,000 trillion won (approximately $4.74 trillion) for the first time. This significant milestone was achieved roughly two weeks after it initially breached the 6,000 trillion won mark on April 27.
**Retail investors** played a crucial role in pushing the index higher, executing net purchases of shares totaling 2.02 trillion won on the main board. **Institutional investors** also showed strong buying interest, acquiring 1.09 trillion won. Conversely, **foreign investors** were the sole net sellers, offloading 3.07 trillion won during the session.
**Large-cap tech shares** were particularly strong performers, surging significantly and tracking gains observed on Wall Street.
**Samsung Electronics** saw a substantial surge of 7.17 percent, reaching 287,750 won, while **SK Hynix** recorded an impressive leap of 15.42 percent to 1.946 million won. Both tech giants achieved new intraday highs, underscoring the strong market sentiment for **AI memory leaders**.
Other notable gainers included **SK Square**, which advanced 8.93 percent to 1,196,000 won, and **Hyundai Motors**, rising 4.89 percent to 643,000 won, contributing to the broader market strength.
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