The KOSPI breached the 6000 level just one month after surpassing 5000, as funds previously locked in real estate and deposits continue flowing into the stock market. The rally has been driven by semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while retail investors rushing in on fear of missing out (FOMO) have poured money into exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The benchmark index closed at 6083.86 on the 25th, up 114.22 points or 1.91% from the previous session, according to Korea Exchange. The index touched an intraday high of 6144.71, breaking above the 6100 level. The milestone comes just 29 days after the KOSPI first closed above 5000 on the 27th of last month.
Samsung Electronics rose 1.75% to close at 203,500 won, while SK Hynix gained 1.29% to finish at 1,018,000 won, continuing their powerful advance.
The KOSPI's year-to-date gain of 44.37% ranks first by a wide margin among major global stock markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 also hit a record high of 58,583.12 yen, up 2.2% on the day, but its year-to-date return stands at just 16.39%. U.S. markets also lag significantly, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2.31%, the S&P 500 up 0.65%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.63% for the year.
The KOSPI's market capitalization exceeded 5,000 trillion won for the first time, reaching 5,024.3947 trillion won. Bloomberg reported that "Korea's stock market capitalization has grown by $2.23 trillion (approximately 3,189 trillion won) since early last year, overtaking France to become the world's ninth-largest market."
President Lee Jae-myung commented that "the signs of money previously tied up in real estate flowing into productive capital markets is a very natural and encouraging phenomenon." The number of active stock trading accounts has been rising rapidly, reaching 101,803,688 as of the 24th of this month after first surpassing 100 million on the 28th of last month.
This month, which ushered in the KOSPI 5000 era, foreign investors sold 11.8814 trillion won worth of shares while financial investment firms—a proxy for retail ETF investment flows—made net purchases of 13.2168 trillion won. The unprecedented bull market is drawing funds from demand deposits, cryptocurrency, and real estate markets. Domestic and foreign securities firms have recently raised their KOSPI targets to 7,000-8,000, betting on further gains led by the two semiconductor giants.
