KOSPI races toward 8,000 as chip gains outweigh Iran fears

The KOSPI is displayed on the dealing room board at Hana Bank in Seoul, Monday. The benchmark index closed at 7,822.24, up 324.24 points, or 4.32 percent, from the previous trading session, setting a fresh record-high closing figure. Yonhap

Korea's benchmark KOSPI extended its record-breaking rally, Monday, moving closer to the 8,000-point milestone as gains in heavyweight semiconductor shares outweighed lingering concerns over Middle East tensions.

The KOSPI opened at 7,775.31, up 3.7 percent from the previous session, and quickly breached the 7,800 level after the opening bell. It maintained its upward momentum throughout the session and closed at 7,822.24, up 324.24 points, or 4.32 percent, marking a fresh record-high closing figure.

The benchmark index has posted gains for five straight trading sessions, bringing the 8,000-point threshold increasingly into view.

Market heavyweights led the rally. Chip giants SK hynix and Samsung Electronics closed at 1.88 million won ($1,278) and 285,500 won, respectively, both hitting fresh highs.

Amid the sharp rally, a sidecar was triggered at 9:30 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange. The measure is activated when KOSPI 200 futures rise 5 percent or more from the reference price and remain at that level for at least one minute, suspending program buy orders for five minutes.

The combined market capitalization of the benchmark KOSPI and the secondary Kosdaq market surpassed 7,000 trillion won ($4.75 trillion) for the first time in history. The milestone came just eight trading sessions after the combined market value topped 6,000 trillion won on April 27.

The recent rally has been fueled by sharply upgraded earnings forecasts for major domestic chipmakers, as investors expect supply shortages driven by aggressive AI infrastructure investment by global Big Tech firms to persist.

The bullish sentiment in the Korean equities market remained largely undeterred by escalating U.S.-Iran tensions.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) called Iran's response to the latest U.S. proposal aimed at ending the conflict "totally unacceptable," renewing concerns over military tensions in the Middle East.

"Despite continued uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations, the KOSPI has continued its record-breaking rally as local markets have become less sensitive to geopolitical tensions, with expectations for an eventual end to the Iran conflict still intact," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Global brokerages are revising their KOSPI forecasts upward.

JPMorgan raised its target for the index, Monday, to 10,000 from its previous projection of 8,500, while Goldman Sachs lifted its projection to 9,000.

"Korea is our top preferred market in the region," JPMorgan said in a report, adding that upside momentum in the memory chip sector is likely to continue.

Meanwhile, the secondary bourse Kosdaq opened at 1,212.88, up 5.16 points, or 0.43 percent, from the previous session, and closed at 1,207.34, down 0.03 percent.

In the foreign exchange market, the Korean currency opened stronger at 1,466 won per dollar, up 5.7 won from the previous session, but later reversed course to close weaker at 1,472.4 won.