South Korea: KOSPI stock index hits all-time high.

Photo caption — An electronic display board shows the KOSPI index rising at Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: YONHAP/VNA)

According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Seoul, at the close of trading on May 29th – the last trading session of June – the KOSPI rose 3.55%, or 290.86 points, to 8,476.15 points. This is not only the highest closing level ever but also surpassed the previous session's record of 8,457.09 points. With this result, the benchmark index of the South Korean stock market is now only about 524 points away from the 9,000-point mark.

The KOSPI's upward momentum was primarily driven by strong buying from institutional investors, with net purchases totaling 2,366 trillion won (approximately $1.57 billion). Meanwhile, individual investors and foreign investors recorded net sales of 1,401 trillion won and 1,068 trillion won, respectively. Foreign investors have maintained a net selling streak of 16 consecutive sessions. Market optimism was fueled by expectations that the US and Iran are nearing a peace agreement, thereby easing concerns related to geopolitics and global energy prices.

In addition, technology stocks continued to play a leading role after Samsung Electronics announced it would become the first company in the world to ship its 7th generation high-bandwidth memory, HBM4E – a key component for the artificial intelligence (AI) field.

News that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is expected to visit South Korea this week to meet with leaders of major corporations such as Samsung Electronics, LG, SK, and Hyundai Motor also contributed to the upward trend of AI and semiconductor-related stocks.

However, a cautious sentiment persisted following reports that negotiations between the US and Iran were not yet complete. Against this backdrop, the MSCI Korea ETF fell 0.28%, the Russell 2000 index dropped 0.59%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index remained virtually unchanged.

Lee Kyung Min, a market analyst at Daishin Securities, believes that the KOSPI is likely to maintain its upward trend this month thanks to momentum from the semiconductor industry, but the market may experience a short-term correction to absorb profit-taking pressure.

According to Lee, if the US and Iran reach a peace agreement, the upward trend in global stock markets, including KOSPI, could be bolstered by more stable oil prices and a weakening of bond yields and the US dollar.

Meanwhile, analysts also expect the technology market to continue to be supported ahead of aerospace company SpaceX's planned US listing on June 12th. Kim Yong Gu, an analyst at Yuanta Securities, believes that the emergence of another large-scale technology company could continue to attract global capital and create a positive spillover effect on the AI value chain.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/han-quoc-chi-so-chung-khoan-kospi-lap-dinh-lich-su-20260601075603002.htm