Goldman Sachs Raises KOSPI Target to 9,000 in Latest Upgrade

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It provides six curated news items tailored to each reader type.

1. "KOSPI Rally Is Not Over"… Goldman Sachs Raises Target to 9,000

- Key Summary: In a report released on the 7th (local time), Goldman Sachs raised its KOSPI target to 9,000 and named the Korean stock market its "highest conviction" investment destination in Asia. Less than a month after lifting its target from 7,000 to 8,000, the firm added another 1,000 points, signaling more than 20% additional upside from current KOSPI levels. Goldman Sachs noted that the market is underestimating the likelihood that high profits in the memory semiconductor sector will be sustained over an extended period. With the hardware and semiconductor sectors expected to drive Korean corporate earnings growth to around 300% this year, the firm assessed that DRAM and NAND supply shortages are at record highs.

2. "KOSPI Outpaces Apartment Prices"… KOSPI Market Cap at 6,143 Trillion Won, Closing In on Nationwide Apartment Value

- Key Summary: The KOSPI's market capitalization reached 6,143 trillion won on the 8th, closing in on the nationwide apartment market value of 6,189 trillion won. Including the KOSDAQ, total domestic stock market capitalization stood at 6,815 trillion won, already surpassing the apartment market value. Stock market capitalization, which stood at around 4,000 trillion won in early January, has grown roughly 70% in just over four months, while nationwide apartment market value rose only 2.01% over the same period. As tightened lending rules and increased listings by multi-home owners slowed the property market, the semiconductor and AI rally combined with a money move drove rapid expansion of the stock market. Samsung Group's market capitalization reached 2,004 trillion won, approaching the market value of Seoul apartments, while the combined market capitalization of the top 10 groups stood at 4,732 trillion won, already exceeding the 4,379 trillion won value of apartments in the greater Seoul area.

3. March Current Account Surplus Hits Record $37.3 Billion… Travel Balance Turns Positive After 11 Years on BTS Boost

- Key Summary: According to preliminary international balance of payments data released by the Bank of Korea on the 8th, the March current account surplus reached $37.33 billion, the highest since the statistics began. The cumulative current account surplus from January to March this year was $73.78 billion, 3.8 times the $19.49 billion recorded during the same period last year, with semiconductor exports (up 149.8% year-on-year) driving the surplus. Meanwhile, the BTS comeback concert held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on March 21 pushed foreign visitor arrivals above 2 million for the first time, turning the travel balance positive ($140 million) for the first time in 136 months since November 2014. However, crude oil import prices, which rose about 45% from $75.4 per barrel in March to $112.3 in April due to the Middle East war, are cited as a variable that could put downward pressure on the current account going forward.

4. "We'll Build the Factory and Install the Advanced Equipment"… Big Tech Courts SK hynix (000660)

- Key Summary: Global Big Tech companies have proposed investments worth tens of trillions of won to SK hynix to secure memory chips. The Big Tech firms reportedly offered direct investment in the first factory (Y1), which SK hynix is building at its Yongin semiconductor cluster with a total investment of 31 trillion won, as well as financial support for the purchase of ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment. Behind this move lies an unprecedented memory supply crunch. SK hynix's first-quarter average selling price (ASP) for DRAM surged more than 60% from the previous quarter, and NAND flash prices jumped more than 70%, with current production capacity essentially at "zero."