The KOSPI, which has fluctuated around the 8000 mark throughout the week, is poised to potentially break through this milestone, buoyed by strong performance in the U.S. stock market.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed at 7981.41 on May 14, rising 137.40 points (1.75%) from the previous trading day, leaving it just 19 points away from the 8000 mark.
In the securities market, individual and foreign investors engaged in a tug-of-war over supply and demand. Individuals made net purchases worth 1.8499 trillion won, driving the index higher, while institutions recorded a net buying of 192.7 billion won. In contrast, foreign investors sold a net 2.168 trillion won, continuing a six-day selling streak.
On Wall Street, U.S. stocks closed higher, continuing a rally led by technology shares. The positive sentiment was attributed to a reaffirmation of cooperation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit in Beijing.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "Expectations surrounding related developments, including NVIDIA, have driven the strong performance in the U.S. market. For this momentum to continue, the actual import approval of China's H200 will be crucial." She added that the market will also focus on existing external factors such as U.S.-Iran negotiations and the direction of U.S. interest rates.
On the same day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 50,063.46, up 0.75%. This marks the first time the Dow has surpassed the 50,000 mark since February 11. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also rose by 0.77% and 0.88%, respectively, reaching new all-time highs.
NVIDIA shares rose 4.39% amid growing expectations for sales of its H200 chips in China, following news that CEO Jensen Huang was part of the delegation visiting China. Cerebras Systems, a company specializing in AI inference chips, surged 68.15% on its first day of trading on Nasdaq.
Other major AI semiconductor stocks, including Broadcom (up 5.52%) and AMD (up 0.94%), also performed well. However, Micron (-3.4%) and SanDisk (-4.5%) saw declines due to profit-taking. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed up 0.46%.
Analysts suggest that the likelihood of the KOSPI breaking through the 8000 mark has increased, supported by the strong performance of U.S. tech stocks and improved investor sentiment toward AI. However, the ongoing foreign selling over six consecutive trading days remains a concern.
Meanwhile, as of 8:15 a.m. on the same day, Samsung Electronics was trading at 294,500 won, down 1,500 won (-0.51%) from the previous trading day, while SK Hynix was up 4,000 won (0.2%) at 1,974,000 won.
NVIDIA shares rose 4.39% amid growing expectations for sales of its H200 chips in China, following news that CEO Jensen Huang was part of the delegation visiting China. Cerebras Systems, a company specializing in AI inference chips, surged 68.15% on its first day of trading on Nasdaq.
Other major AI semiconductor stocks, including Broadcom (up 5.52%) and AMD (up 0.94%), also performed well. However, Micron (-3.4%) and SanDisk (-4.5%) saw declines due to profit-taking. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed up 0.46%.
Analysts suggest that the likelihood of the KOSPI breaking through the 8000 mark has increased, supported by the strong performance of U.S. tech stocks and improved investor sentiment toward AI. However, the ongoing foreign selling over six consecutive trading days remains a concern.
Meanwhile, as of 8:15 a.m. on the same day, Samsung Electronics was trading at 294,500 won, down 1,500 won (-0.51%) from the previous trading day, while SK Hynix was up 4,000 won (0.2%) at 1,974,000 won.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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