South Korea’s stock market has climbed to seventh in the world by market capitalization, moving up another notch after passing the U.K. about 10 days earlier, Bloomberg data showed.
As of the previous trading day, May 6, South Korea’s total market capitalization stood at about $4.59 trillion, topping Canada’s roughly $4.50 trillion, according to Bloomberg’s tally.
South Korea now ranks behind the United States ($77.08 trillion), China ($15.27 trillion), Japan ($8.33 trillion), Hong Kong ($7.47 trillion), India ($5.01 trillion) and Taiwan ($4.67 trillion). It is followed by Canada, the U.K. ($4.0 trillion), France ($3.54 trillion), Germany ($3.11 trillion) and Switzerland ($2.66 trillion).
As recently as April 27, South Korea’s market cap was $4.04 trillion, narrowly ahead of the U.K. in eighth place, while Canada and Taiwan were still above it. Since then, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have repeatedly set record highs, lifting the broader market’s value. The KOSPI jumped 5.12% on May 4 and 6.45% on May 6 to close at 7,384.56. The next target is Taiwan.
On May 7, the KOSPI was up 0.63% at 7,433.34 as of about 2 p.m., another record. The index rose 75.5% last year; it is the first time since the late-1980s “three-lows” boom — 1986 (67%), 1987 (93%) and 1988 (73%) — that the KOSPI has posted gains of more than 70% for two consecutive years, the report said.
Analysts said South Korea’s global ranking could rise further, arguing that earnings are improving faster than share prices.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said profit growth is “far outpacing” the market’s rise. “The KOSPI’s 2026 operating profit consensus is 124.2%, exceeding the KOSPI’s gain over the same period,” Han said. He added that with foreign investors posting net buying of about 6 trillion won since May and with earnings momentum improving, the KOSPI has room to extend gains led by bellwether stocks such as semiconductors.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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