KOSPI surges toward 5,000 points faster than expected

An electronic board shows the benchmark KOSPI closing at 4,551.06 points, up 25.58 points from the previous session, at the main lobby of the Korea Exchange in Seoul's financial district of Yeouido, Wednesday. Yonhap

The benchmark KOSPI is climbing faster than expected toward an unprecedented 5,000 points, with analysts Wednesday projecting it could reach the milestone as early as the first quarter of this year.

The index has broken the all-time closing high in each of the first four trading days of the year, finishing at 4,309.63 points Friday, 4,457.52 on Monday and 4,525.48 on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, KOSPI briefly climbed above the 4,600-point mark, reaching an intraday high of 4,611.72 before closing at 4,551.06 points, hitting another all-time high.

In particular, KOSPI’s step-by-step climb along the 100-point marks — 4,300, 4,400, 4,500 and 4,600 — has been rarely seen, prompting analysts to revise their forecasts and suggest that the index could reach 5,000 points within the first three months of 2026.

Many analysts have agreed that the milestone is within reach this year, citing KOSPI’s 75.62 percent gain in 2025 — the highest among major economies.

“I bet President Lee Jae Myung will be most surprised by KOSPI’s accelerated rally,” said Jung Eui-jung, head of the Korean Stockholders' Alliance, noting that Lee promised to usher in a KOSPI 5,000-point era within his five-year term when he took office in June 2025. “The pace of gains has exceeded market expectations, and it looks possible that such an era could become reality by the start of spring.”

Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min expressed a similar view. “The likelihood of entering the 5,000-point era within the first quarter has increased, as KOSPI appears to have completed the correction phase that began in November last year and resumed its upward trend.”

Other analysts have raised their upper targets for KOSPI above 5,000 points, suggesting that the index can comfortably reach the milestone.

In their respective reports, Kim Yong-gu of Yuanta Securities adjusted his 2026 KOSPI forecast band from 3,800-4,600 to 4,200-5,200, while Han Ji-young of Kiwoom Securities raised the index’s annual range from 3,500-4,500 to 3,900-5,200.

The experts justified their upgraded forecasts by citing the “super cycle” in the global chip market and the strong gains of leading chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

Together, the two companies now account for more than 35 percent of KOSPI’s total market capitalization, up from nearly 25 percent in 2025.

This increase comes amid speculation that their combined operating profit could exceed 200 trillion won ($138.2 billion) this year, representing almost half of the total operating profit of all KOSPI-listed companies.

Like the benchmark KOSPI, both market bellwethers have continued their step-by-step gains.

Samsung Electronics surpassed the 120,000, 130,000 and 140,000 won levels so far this year, gaining 1.51 percent to close at 141,000 won, Wednesday.

SK hynix’s gains were even steeper, climbing past 670,000, 690,000, 720,000 and 740,000 won to close at 742,000 won, Wednesday, up 2.2 percent.

The rallies were fueled by foreign investors, who posted net purchases of 1.2 trillion won in KOSPI stocks, while institutional and retail investors recorded net sales of 939 billion won and 294 billion won, respectively.

Among other stocks, LG Energy Solution lost 1.98 percent, Samsung Biologics rose 2.67 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 13.8 percent and Kia climbed 5.55 percent.