On April 27, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at a record-breaking 6,615.03, jumping 139.40 points (2.15%) from the previous trading day. This monumental leap marks the first time the index has ever finished above the 6,600 threshold, reaching an intraday high of 6,639.46. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also joined the rally, closing at 1,226.18, up 1.86%.
A Milestone for Market Capitalization
The combined market capitalization of the KOSPI, KOSDAQ, and KONEX markets surpassed 6,000 trillion KRW for the first time. The KOSPI alone accounted for approximately 5,354 trillion KRW, representing nearly 90% of the total market value. Analysts interpret this synchronized rise in both the index and market cap as a shift from a "liquidity-driven" market to a "fundamental re-evaluation" phase based on robust earnings expectations.
Drivers of the Rally: AI and Semiconductors
The primary catalysts for this historic surge were institutional and foreign buying sprees, bolstered by easing geopolitical tensions and a stabilizing currency. The KRW/USD exchange rate closed at 1,472.5 won, down 12.0 won, improving investor sentiment.
The rally was spearheaded by the AI-semiconductor super-cycle:
SK Hynix rewrote its record high, surpassing the 1.3 million KRW mark.
Samsung Electronics reached the 220,000 KRW milestone (the so-called "22-man-전자").
Hanmi Semiconductor saw a sharp spike following news of its CEO’s 3 billion KRW treasury stock purchase.
The massive demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and AI data center infrastructure has convinced investors that the supply shortage will continue to drive profitability for South Korean chipmakers. Additionally, sectors with strong order backlogs, such as defense and shipbuilding, showed significant strength.
Global Context and Future Outlook
The domestic market benefited from a positive lead-in from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw gains amid hopes for renewed negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. This easing of geopolitical risk shifted the focus back to corporate earnings and macroeconomic data.
This week is expected to be a major turning point for further market "level-up" opportunities. Investors are closely watching:
The April FOMC Meeting: For cues on global monetary policy.
U.S. Big Tech Earnings: Reports from Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Apple (M7).
Domestic Earnings: Key players like Hanwha Aerospace, Doosan Enerbility, and Samsung SDI are set to release results.
"The market has developed a degree of immunity to geopolitical conflicts and is now focusing more on macro factors and earnings," noted Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities. "The momentum for the second quarter will depend on whether core industries can secure further visibility in their profit growth."
[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]
