S. Korea's Kopsi Index Surges Over 6% in a Single Day, Sets New All-Time High

On Wednesday, South Korea's stock market witnessed a historic moment as the benchmark Korean Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 6.45% throughout the day, not only breaching the 7,000整数关口 for the first time but also setting a new historical closing record at 7,384.56 points.

The unexpected turn in geopolitical situation served as the catalyst for the market explosion, as U.S. President Trump announced the suspension of escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to facilitate the final agreement with Iran. This statement directly led to a significant drop in oil prices during the Asian trading session, greatly alleviating market concerns about inflation spiraling out of control due to conflicts in the Middle East, thus making room for a rebound in risk assets.

The semiconductor sector became the main driver of the attack under the resonance of AI fever and foreign capital frenzy, with Samsung Electronics surging as much as 16% in a single day, pushing its share price over 260,000 Korean won. According to the Korean Economic Daily, Samsung Electronics' market value has now surpassed 1500 trillion won (approximately 10.3 trillion USD), becoming the second Asian company to cross this threshold after TSMC, while SK Hynix also recorded a gain of more than 10% that day.

Foreign capital exhibited a strong pricing power in this market movement, with a net purchase of KOSPI stocks reaching 3.53 trillion won for the day, setting a historical record. In contrast, domestic institutions and retail investors in South Korea chose to reduce their positions amid higher prices, with foreign buying concentrated heavily in the three major chip giants: Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and SK Square.

Memory chips are transitioning from cyclical commodities to global strategic materials, and rumors of negotiations between Samsung and Intel over providing contract manufacturing services for Apple further raised market valuation expectations for tech leaders. IDC stated in its latest report that, driven by the urgent demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) from hyperscale data centers like Nvidia, the sustainability of this semiconductor prosperity cycle will far exceed the past.

For investors, the KOSPI index has achieved a leap from 2,000 to 7,000 points over the past year and a half, benefiting not only from the technology wave but also from a series of market reform measures implemented by the South Korean government. Despite the current South Korean stock market P/E ratio of about 9 times, still in a historically undervalued range, the second-round inflation risk triggered by geopolitical events remains a sword hanging above the future market.

The market's focus will now turn to the substantive progress of the Middle East peace agreement and the delivery capacity of chip giants under high growth profit expectations. Mirae Asset analyst Seo Sang-young pointed out that if AI demand can maintain its current intensity, the index is expected to challenge the ten-thousand mark; however, if geopolitical conflicts once again lead to a slowdown in growth, investors need to be wary of the drawdown risks brought about by demand collapse.