K Market Surpasses the UK, Rises to No. 8 Globally by Market Cap

[Financial News] South Korea's stock market has overtaken the United Kingdom to rank eighth in the world by market capitalization.
According to Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 28th, the domestic stock market's total market capitalization stood at 6,101.994 trillion won as of the previous day's close. The KOSPI Composite Index accounted for 5,421.542 trillion won, while KOSDAQ reached 679.452 trillion won.
According to foreign media reports, South Korea moved up one spot in the global ranking after surpassing the United Kingdom, whose market capitalization stood at $3.99 trillion, or about 5,880 trillion won. It is now the world's eighth-largest market, behind the United States, China, Japan, Hong Kong, the Republic of India, Canada and Taiwan.
The domestic market has maintained a steep upward trend this year. From the start of the year through the previous day, the KOSPI surged 56.97 percent and KOSDAQ jumped 32.49 percent. Fueled by the market boom, the combined market capitalization of KOSPI and KOSDAQ has increased by more than 52 percent so far this year.
The gains are seen as the result of expectations for record earnings in the semiconductor sector, driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, along with the government's policies to revitalize the stock market. Securities analysts say the rally is likely to continue, as South Korean stocks remain undervalued.
Lee Young-won, a researcher at Heungkuk Securities, said, "Explosive profit growth in semiconductors has pushed market valuations down to their lowest level since the global financial crisis." He added, "As confidence builds in the sustainability of earnings, a recovery in the price-earnings ratio (PER) is expected to follow, and the KOSPI could climb further to the mid-7,000 range this year."
Junyeong Kim, a researcher at iM Securities, noted, "Earnings estimates for the Korean stock market, led by semiconductors, have continued to rise sharply, lifting this year's KOSPI operating profit estimate to around 800 trillion won." He added, "Next year's KOSPI operating profit estimate is projected to grow 20.6 percent to 959 trillion won."

jisseo@fnnews.com Seo Min-ji Reporter