South Korea’s stock market index, KOSPI, ended Tuesday’s trading session above 8,000 points as foreign investors showed interest in local stocks amid expectations of a potential peace deal between the United States and Iran. The index surged over 2.8 percent to open at 8,070.91 points, surpassing its previous intraday high of 8,046.78 points. Throughout the trading day, it reached a peak of 8,131.15 points before settling at 8,047.51 points, marking a 2.55 percent increase from the previous close.
The recent bullish trend in the market has been fueled by foreign investors’ growing appetite for riskier assets, driven by optimism surrounding a potential resolution between the U.S. and Iran. After 13 consecutive trading sessions, foreign investors returned as net buyers of local stocks. U.S. President Donald Trump’s positive comments on the ongoing peace negotiations with Iran further boosted market sentiment.
The surge in the market has been particularly influenced by investments in artificial intelligence (AI) sectors, with companies like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. witnessing significant gains. Shares of SK hynix surged by 5.72 percent to close at 2.05 million won, while Samsung Electronics saw a 2.22 percent increase to 299,000 won. SK hynix’s market capitalization also rose to 1,473 trillion won, positioning the company to potentially surpass the US$1 trillion mark in terms of stock value.
Analysts anticipate the KOSPI’s upward momentum to persist in the near term, although concerns have been raised about the market’s heavy reliance on semiconductor stocks, particularly Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Notably, a substantial portion of the daily trading value on the KOSPI this month has been attributed to these two semiconductor giants.
