How Far Will the KOSPI Rise? Reaches Historic '9,000' for the First Time

[Anchor]

The KOSPI has written a new chapter in history once again, this time breaking through the 9,000-point mark. This 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 strong bull market.

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.

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 broke through 8,000 during intraday trading for the first time on May 15.

Although major U.S. indices fell across the board overnight as the U.S. Federal Reserve froze the benchmark interest rate but hinted at the possibility of a rate hike, the Korean stock market was different.

[Hwang Seung-taek, Head of Research Center at Hana Securities: In terms of the fact that the market had generally anticipated (the possibility of a rate hike), you can see that its impact on the stock market was limited for now.]

Instead, the fact that the U.S. and Iran are taking steps toward ending their war, and comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook that product prices would inevitably have to be raised due to memory price hikes, had a greater impact on the Korean market.

On expectations that the outlook for semiconductors 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 last September, and they have increased about fourfold up to this year [1.1.3]. Such factors are driving expectations for profit growth...]

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

This year, the KOSPI has risen 115%, making it the overwhelming number one among major global stock markets.

Its market capitalization is also around $5 trillion, ranking seventh after Taiwan and Japan.

With analyses suggesting that semiconductors, South Korea's flagship industry, have established themselves as an infrastructure industry rather than a cyclical one alongside AI innovation, the South Korean capital market is evaluated to have stepped up to the next level.

(Reported by Choi Ho-jun and Choi Dae-ung | Video by Kim Yun-seong | Graphics by Lee Jun-ho and Park Cheon-ung)
 
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[Anchor]

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

We continue our discussion with Reporter Kim Hye-min from the Economic Department.

Q. How far will the KOSPI go?

[Reporter Kim Hye-min: It was only a month and a half ago that the prediction of the KOSPI reaching 9,000 first emerged. Therefore, it is not easy to predict what will happen next, but the securities industry forecasts that it could easily reach 10,000 points this year. Meritz Securities projected it would reach 11,500, and Korea Investment & Securities saw it going up to 11,000. 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 view is that this trend will not easily break because AI investment demand and semiconductor earnings are so strong.]

Q. Foreign investors net buying day after day... Why?

[Reporter Kim Hye-min: It is definitely retail investors who have led the KOSPI this year. They recorded net purchases of 73 trillion won this year alone. However, the influence of foreign investors was also very significant in moving from 8,000 to 9,000. Since June 12, they have continued to record net purchases, except for yesterday (June 17). The KOSPI has also been rising for six consecutive trading days since June 11. The securities industry believes this is largely due to foreign investors, who had participated in the public offering process of SpaceX in the U.S. stock market, returning to the domestic market as that process wrapped up.]

Q. Concerns over polarization and volatility?

[Reporter Kim Hye-min: There is a phrase I often hear around me these days. 'Why is the stock I bought in the red when the KOSPI is rising endlessly like this?' Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix account for more than half of the total market capitalization. Even today, when the index broke through 9,000 points, only about 100 stocks rose, while nearly 800 fell. The same goes for the KOSDAQ, where the number of falling stocks was 5.8 times higher. Also, as a small number of large-cap stocks dictate the entire index, volatility itself is increasing. In particular, a massive amount of money has poured into leverage products of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which were listed late last month (May), with their market capitalization easily exceeding 9 trillion won. This has raised concerns about overheating and volatility. When the KOSPI fell consecutively early this month (June), the loss rate approached nearly 40%, and price discrepancies occurred as they failed to reflect actual stock values. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) also issued a consumer warning on these products. The won-dollar exchange rate, which is showing no signs of falling, is also inevitably negative for the continuous influx of foreign investors.]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.