How Far Will KOSPI Rise? Index Surpasses 9,000 Points for First Time

[Anchor]

The KOSPI has written a new chapter in history once again, this time breaking past the 9,000-point mark. This milestone comes just a month after it surpassed 8,000. Although the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at the possibility of a rate hike overnight, semiconductor stocks drove a powerful rally.

Reporter Lee Tae-kwon has the story.

[Reporter Lee Tae-kwon]

[Congratulations on KOSPI 9,000!]

The KOSPI has climbed to the unprecedented height of 9,000 points.

Starting with a slight gain, the KOSPI began to rise in earnest from midday.

After climbing past 9,000 to reach as high as 9,106, it closed at 9,063, up 2.25% from the previous session.

This comes just a month after it crossed the 8,000 mark during intraday trading for the first time on May 15.

While major U.S. indexes fell across the board overnight as the Federal Reserve froze interest rates but hinted at potential rate hikes, the South Korean stock market told a different story.

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

Instead, the news of the U.S. and Iran taking steps toward ending their conflict, along with comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook that product prices would inevitably rise due to memory price hikes, had a greater impact on the local market.

Driven by expectations that the semiconductor outlook remains bright, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 4.6% and 6.5% respectively, hitting historic highs.

[Lee Sang-heon / Researcher at iM Securities: "DRAM and NAND prices have been rising since September last year, increasing about fourfold up to this year, which has fueled expectations for profit growth..."]

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

The KOSPI has surged 115% this year, making it the overwhelmingly top performer among major global stock markets.

Its market capitalization has also reached around $5 trillion, ranking seventh behind Taiwan and Japan.

With analyses suggesting that semiconductors—South Korea's flagship industry—have transitioned from a cyclical industry to an infrastructure industry alongside AI innovation, the South Korean capital market is evaluated to have moved up to a new weight class.

(Camera: Choi Ho-jun, Choi Dae-woong | Video Editing: Kim Yun-seong | Design: Lee Jun-ho, Park Cheon-woong)
 
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[Anchor]

Where will the KOSPI go next after reaching 9,000?

We continue our discussion with business reporter Kim Hye-min.

Q. How far will the KOSPI go?

[Reporter Kim Hye-min: "It was only a month and a half ago that predictions of the KOSPI reaching 9,000 emerged. While it is difficult to predict the future easily, the securities industry forecasts that the index could smoothly reach 10,000 points this year. Meritz Securities projected it could reach 11,500, and Korea Investment & Securities saw it hitting 11,000, while global investment bank Goldman Sachs raised its target from 9,000 to 12,000. Although interest rates are on an upward trend and the burden of war remains, the prevailing outlook is that this trend will not easily bend due to the incredibly strong AI investment demand and semiconductor earnings."]

Q. Why are foreign investors on a continuous net buying streak?

[Reporter Kim Hye-min: "It is undoubtedly retail investors who have driven the KOSPI this year, recording 73 trillion won in net purchases this year alone. However, foreign investors also played a massive role in pushing the index from 8,000 to 9,000. Since June 12, foreign investors have maintained a net buying streak, with the sole exception of yesterday (June 17). Additionally, the KOSPI has risen for six consecutive trading days since June 11. Market analysts believe this is largely due to foreign investors, who had participated in the SpaceX public offering process in the U.S. market, returning to the domestic market as that process concluded."]

Q. Concerns over polarization and volatility?

[Reporter Kim Hye-min: "Lately, I often hear people around me ask, 'Why is the KOSPI rising endlessly while the stocks I bought are in the red?' Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix account for more than half of the total market capitalization. Even today, as the index broke past 9,000 points, only about 100 stocks advanced, while nearly 800 declined. The KOSDAQ is in a similar situation, with 5.8 times more declining stocks than advancing ones. Furthermore, because a small number of large-cap stocks dictate the entire index, volatility itself is increasing. In particular, massive amounts of money have poured into Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix leverage products listed at the end of last month (May), with their market capitalization easily exceeding 9 trillion won. This has raised concerns over overheating and volatility. When the KOSPI fell for several consecutive days early this month (June), the loss rate neared 40%, and price discrepancies occurred as they failed to reflect actual stock values. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has also issued a consumer warning on these products. Additionally, the won-dollar exchange rate, which is showing no signs of falling, is bound to have a negative impact on the continuous influx of foreign investors."]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.