(News Focus) KOSPI-new high
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| ▲ Traders inside the dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul are seen cheering after the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surpassed the 6,000-mark for the first time on Feb. 25, 2026. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ An advertisement on a U.S. stock trading service is displayed on a building of a local brokerage in western Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 25, 2025. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ People cross a road in the financial district of Yeouido in western Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 24, 2025. (Yonhap) |
(News Focus) KOSPI-new high
(News Focus) Propelled by chip bull run, KOSPI lands in new record high above 6,000 points
By Kang Jae-eun
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index reached a new historic high of above 6,000 on Wednesday, just a month after it reached the once-unreachable level of 5,000 points, on a sustained chip rally in the face of uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy and heavy reliance on some shares.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 6,083.86 points, up nearly 2 percent from the previous session, after rising as high as 6,144.71.
The KOSPI has advanced more than 40 percent so far this year, outperforming its peers as the winner in the global market. Last year, the index jumped over 70 percent.
Its total market capitalization also broke the 5,000 trillion-won (US$3.6 billion) mark for the first time.
"The reason behind the KOSPI's continued rally is clear. We are seeing the same narrative that led the bull market last year at work," Kim Jae-seung, analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, said.
Leading the rally was the country's major semiconductor makers, as demand for memory chips continued, amid a global race to invest in artificial intelligence (AI), Kim explained.
Shares of Samsung Electronics and its rival SK hynix both rose over 50 percent since the start of the year.
The government's corporate reform efforts gave a boost, analysts said, with a bill requiring companies to cancel treasury shares expected to be put to a vote this week.
But a crazy run by retail investors increased market volatility, to some degree.
The country's main bourse operator issued a sidecar, or a temporary halt in trading, four times over the past two months this year in the KOSPI and the secondary KOSDAQ market.
Going forward, the local market would become susceptible to negative developments, given its over-dependence on the country's two chipmakers -- Samsung and SK hynix.
Heo Jae-hwan, an analyst from Eugene Investment & Securities, argues that the KOSPI could trade in a range of 3,900 to 4,000 points when the two chip giants are excluded from the market gains so far, and that a correction could occur once their growth momentum slows.
Uncertainties surrounding the Federal Reserve's policy direction, the mid-term elections in the United States, and overheated competition in the global AI sector were cited as other factors affecting the local market, according to market observers.
Still, analysts remain broadly bullish on the local market.
Over the past month, at least 10 local brokerages have revised up their target for the country's benchmark stock gauge, according to data from Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency.
Hyundai Motor Securities expects the KOSPI to reach as high as 7,500 points, while NH Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities have each raised their bull case target for the index to 7,300 and 7,250 points, respectively.
Nomura recently edged up the KOSPI target to 8,000, noting the index could reach beyond such a level if South Korea accelerates its corporate reforms and structural improvements to the secondary KOSDAQ.
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