AI stock boom pushes Seoul's Kospi index over 8,000 for the first time
Currency dealers work as electronic boards show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) and the exchange rate between the US dollar and South Korean won, at the dealing room of a bank, in Seoul, South Korea, on Apr 8, 2025. (File photo: Reuters/Kim Soo-hyeon)
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index topped 8,000 points for the first time Friday (May 15), buoyed by an artificial intelligence-driven boom in the country's semiconductor industry.
The index briefly rose above the milestone in morning trade before falling back into the 7,900 range later in the session.
It marked the latest high point in a meteoric rise for the Kospi, which was trading at around 2,600 points just a year ago.
South Korea is home to tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix - key suppliers of high-performance chips that power AI infrastructure globally.
Both of the firms have posted record first-quarter earnings as demand surges for the fast-evolving technology worldwide.
Shares in Samsung Electronics have risen around 190 per cent over six months, while SK hynix shares gained 220 per cent over the same period.
The global frenzy to build AI data centres has sent orders for the companies' advanced, high-bandwidth memory microchips soaring.
South Korea has said it will triple spending on AI this year, aiming to join the United States and China as one of the top three AI powers.
Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Yuanta Securities in Seoul, said the Kospi is likely to maintain its upward trend for the time being.
"Beyond semiconductors, major sectors by market cap also include AI-related power equipment and infrastructure used in AI data centres," he told AFP.
But there is no guarantee that the same level of AI demand will continue in coming years, said Kim Dae-jong, a business professor at Sejong University.
"Demand for AI data centres is arguably uncertain beyond the next two years," he told AFP.
Seok Byoung-hoon, an economics professor at Ewha Womans University, said it is unclear whether expectations for future earnings "have already been priced into current share prices or whether they can continue to drive stocks higher".
AI-related shares also rallied on Wall Street overnight, with chip giant Nvidia jumping 4.39 per cent.
Investor sentiment was also lifted after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during their Beijing summit on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz - a key global oil shipping route - should remain open, the White House said.
