KOSPI Hits Record 6,690.90 for Third Straight Session Despite OpenAI Jitters

 
South Korean stocks pushed to fresh highs for a third straight session, shaking off overnight weakness on Wall Street tied to concerns about OpenAI and the pace of artificial intelligence growth.
 
The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,690.90, setting another all-time high, according to the financial investment industry on April 29. In the main board market, individual investors bought a net 167.4 billion won, and institutions were net buyers of 477.7 billion won. Foreign investors sold a net 613.6 billion won, taking profits.
 
U.S. stocks fell overnight, led by technology shares, as uncertainty around OpenAI weighed on sentiment. Reports said OpenAI failed to meet internal targets ahead of a planned initial public offering, and investors also raised concerns that slower revenue growth could make it harder to cover AI data center costs. OpenAI said its business was operating normally, but the comments did not fully ease market worries.
 
AI-related shares were hit. Nvidia fell 1.6%, while Oracle and CoreWeave, key cloud partners for OpenAI, slid 4.1% and 5.8%, respectively. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.58%.
 
South Korean shares also came under pressure early. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell 1.13% and 1.23% at the open, and the KOSPI started the session down 0.33% at 6,619.00. Buying demand picked up later, lifting the index into positive territory. Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said, “Despite OpenAI-related concerns, Samsung Electronics maintained a solid price trend, keeping the KOSPI strong.”
 
Brokerages at home and abroad have been increasingly vocal about expectations for the index to reach 7,000. Hana Securities projected the KOSPI’s upper range in the second half at 7,540 to 8,470 depending on scenarios. Goldman Sachs set a 12-month target of 8,000, and JPMorgan left room for as high as 8,500. Japan’s Nomura Securities also set a first-half target of up to 8,000.
 
Some analysts, however, warned of a pullback after a sharp run-up. The KOSPI has surged more than about 30% in April, quickly building technical 부담. May is often seen as seasonally weak under the “Sell in May” pattern, which could strengthen a wait-and-see stance among investors.
 
Byun Jun-ho, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities, said, “The KOSPI’s monthly gain in April is around 31%, the biggest surge since January 1998,” adding, “The market is nearing, or has already entered, a 부담 zone, and short-term profit-taking demand could grow.”