KOSPI breaches 7,500 intraday; Korea's $4.59T market cap overtakes Canada for global #7
Original: 7500 터치한 코스피…韓증시 시총, 캐나다 제치고 글로벌 7위 View original →
South Korea's KOSPI breached 7,500 intraday on Thursday, touching 7,531.88 before closing up 1.43% at 7,490.05. The three-session rally lifted South Korea's total listed market capitalization to $4.59 trillion, overtaking Canada's $4.50 trillion for the world's seventh-largest equity market — just ten days after surpassing the United Kingdom to claim #8.
The advance was broad-based across large-cap industrials and technology. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) rose 2.07% and SK Hynix (000660.KS) gained 3.31%, both hitting all-time highs. Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) added 4.0%, Doosan Enerbility surged 7.4%, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries climbed 6.94%. Domestic retail investors net bought ₩5.99 trillion, institutions added ₩1.10 trillion, absorbing foreign selling of ₩7.17 trillion — the second consecutive session of heavy outflows by overseas funds.
A notable milestone: the KOSPI's index value now exceeds the S&P 500's index value (7,365.12). Both tracked near 2,000 as recently as 2014; South Korea's dramatically faster nominal growth — driven by semiconductor and EV battery exports — produced the reversal. Analysts say earnings estimate revisions are outpacing price gains, keeping valuations manageable. Some market participants are targeting KOSPI 9,000 by year-end.
AI tailwinds and robust U.S. exports have consistently pushed Samsung and SK Hynix profit forecasts higher, while global infrastructure demand supports the industrial complex. KOSDAQ closed down 0.91% at 1,199.18, underperforming KOSPI, confirming the rally remains concentrated in blue-chip names.
Key watch points: pace of foreign outflows, Q2 earnings season (June-July), and any global macro shift that could alter won/dollar dynamics. Source: Hankyung.
Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.
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Samsung Electronics became the 13th company globally to top $1 trillion in market capitalization, with shares surging 14.41% to ₩264,000. The KOSPI closed at an all-time high of 7,384.56 (+6.45%), with foreign investors recording ₩3.53 trillion in net purchases — one of the largest single-day inflows in Korean market history. AI infrastructure-driven structural demand and Samsung's reported foundry talks with Apple were the twin catalysts.
South Korea's KOSPI benchmark crossed 7,000 for the first time in its history on May 6, 2026, surging 4.54% to 7,252.09 in early trade. The milestone is driven by semiconductor-sector strength — buoyed by AMD's 15% overnight gain — and optimism over U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks that eased oil-supply risk.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) reported KRW 133.9 trillion in Q1 revenue and KRW 57.2 trillion in operating profit, both records, as AI memory demand and higher ASPs lifted the chip division. The print resets the bar for Asian semis because HBM and server-memory supply are again driving the earnings cycle.
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