"KOSPI Could Reach 7,250"... Korea Investment & Securities Raises Target

[Financial News] As the KOSPI continues to hit record highs, securities firms keep raising their targets. Korea Investment & Securities has sharply revised up its year-end KOSPI target from 5,650 points to 7,250 points. According to the brokerage industry on the 20th, Daejun Kim, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "Earnings forecasts for companies are improving as semiconductor results are being revised upward thanks to the development of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry," adding, "Reflecting this, we have revised our KOSPI target to 7,250 points."
He explained, "We raised earnings per share (EPS) by an additional 5% from our previous estimate to reflect the improvement in semiconductor earnings," and added, "We also set a fair price-earnings ratio (PER) of 12 times, taking into account both profit growth and a higher dividend payout ratio."
Korea Investment & Securities presented a revised KOSPI trading band of 4,900 to 7,250 points. The upper end reflects profit growth led by semiconductors, while the lower end is based on conservative earnings assumptions. On this day, the KOSPI also broke through the 5,700 level intraday for the first time in its history.
However, the firm expects the KOSPI is likely to move sideways in the second half of the year. Kim pointed out, "In the first half, improved semiconductor earnings will drive the index, but in the second half, additional upside catalysts could be limited."
fair@fnnews.com Daejun Han Reporter