KOSPI Hits 9,000 Milestone, Marking New History for Korean Stock Market

[Anchor]

The KOSPI has written history once again, surpassing the 9,000-point mark. This comes just one month after it broke through 8,000. Despite the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling the possibility of interest rate hikes overnight, semiconductor stocks led a strong rally.

Lee Tae-gwon reports.

[Reporter]

[Congratulations on KOSPI 9,000!]

The KOSPI has reached the unprecedented height of 9,000.

After a slightly higher opening, the index began to climb in earnest starting in the afternoon.

It surpassed 9,000 and climbed as high as 9,106 before closing at 9,063, up 2.25% from the previous trading day.

This marks exactly one month since it first crossed the 8,000 mark during intraday trading on May 15.

Although major U.S. indices fell across the board overnight as the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady but hinted at the possibility of future hikes, the Korean market proved resilient.

[Hwang Seung-taek / Head of Research Center, Hana Securities: "Since the market had generally anticipated the possibility of rate hikes, the impact on the stock market was limited."]

Instead, factors such as the ongoing peace process between the U.S. and Iran, and comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding the inevitability of product price increases due to rising memory costs, had a greater impact on the local market.

Driven by expectations that the outlook for semiconductors remains bright, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 4.6% and 6.5%, respectively, both reaching all-time highs.

[Lee Sang-heon / Researcher, iM Securities: "DRAM and NAND prices have risen about fourfold since September of last year, and those factors are fueling expectations for profit growth..."]

The KOSPI, which stood in the 2,900 range a year ago, has tripled in value, bolstered by the semiconductor boom driven by expanding AI demand.

The KOSPI has surged 115% this year, ranking as the top performer among major global stock markets.

Its market capitalization has also reached the $5 trillion level, placing it 7th globally, following Taiwan and Japan.

With the rise of AI innovation, analysts suggest that semiconductors—Korea's core industry—have established themselves as an infrastructure industry rather than a cyclical one, signaling that the status of the Korean capital market has moved up to a new level.

(Reported by Lee Tae-gwon | Video by Choi Ho-jun and Choi Dae-woong | Video Editing by Kim Yun-seong | Graphics by Lee Jun-ho and Park Cheon-ung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.