South Korea's Market Cap Tops 6,000 Trillion Won for the First Time... KOSPI Hits Another Record at 6,615.03

The rally in the KOSPI Composite Index pushed the market capitalization of South Korea's stock market above 6,000 trillion won for the first time ever.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 27th, the combined market capitalization of the domestic stock market, including the KOSPI and KOSDAQ, stood at 6,101,993 billion won. By market, the KOSPI market's capitalization was 5,421,541 billion won, while the KOSDAQ market's was 679,452 billion won.
This is the first time the domestic stock market's market capitalization has exceeded 6,000 trillion won. The pace of growth has accelerated sharply, following the move above 3,000 trillion won on July 10 last year, 4,000 trillion won on Jan. 2 this year, and 5,000 trillion won on Feb. 11.
The KOSPI saw heightened volatility last month amid the war between the United States and Iran. But expectations for a ceasefire deal and upward revisions to earnings forecasts for semiconductor companies have helped both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ set new records almost daily, ushering in the era of a 6,000 trillion won market cap.
The KOSPI's gain this year, at 56.97%, follows last year's 76% rise and remains by far the highest among Group of Twenty (G20) markets. It has widened the gap significantly with second-place Taiwan, at 34.42%, and third-place the Republic of Türkiye, at 27.95%.
On the day, the KOSPI closed at 6,615.03, up 2.15% from the previous session, breaking above 6,600 for the first time in history. Although it fell to 5,052.46 on the 31st of last month, it has surged 30.92% in a little over a month.
The milestone of 6,000 trillion won in market capitalization was led by the semiconductor sector. Samsung Electronics closed at 224,500 won, up 2.28% from the previous session, while SK hynix jumped 5.73% to 1,292,000 won. During the session, SK hynix rose as high as 1,317,000 won, setting a new 52-week high. The gains were driven largely by Intel Corporation's earnings surprise on the U.S. stock market on the 24th local time, which boosted expectations for the broader semiconductor industry. Intel surged 23%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) also ended up 4.3%.
Kang Jinhyuk, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, said, "Even though talks between the United States and Iran fell through, expectations grew after reports that Iran had revisited Pakistan and delivered its conditions for ending the war," adding, "The positive sentiment spread to semiconductor and power equipment stocks, as well as AI-related sectors such as robotics and autonomous driving."
The KOSDAQ also closed at 1,226.18, up 1.86% from the previous session. Robot stocks such as Rainbow Robotics, up 9.31%, and ROBOTIS, up 18.97%, drew attention as expectations grew for automation investment driven by the spread of AI, along with the government's support policies.
nodelay@fnnews.com Park Ji-yeon Reporter