Kospi closes at record 9,114.55

Nikkei tops 72,000 for first time

[Created using ChatGPT]
[Created using ChatGPT]

South Korean and Japanese stocks both closed at all-time highs Monday, as optimism over AI and the semiconductor industry lifted investor sentiment across both markets.

The Kospi rose 62.13 points, or 0.69 percent, to close at a record 9,114.55, according to Korea Exchange. The index started the session on the back foot, sliding as low as 8,954.43 in early trading, before institutional and foreign buying pushed it into positive territory. The Kosdaq also edged up 1.81 points, or 0.19 percent, to finish at 968.40.

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.55 percent to close at 72,353.96, crossing the 72,000 mark on a closing basis for the first time. During the session, the index climbed as high as 72,831.73, setting a fresh intraday all-time high.

Semiconductor and AI-related stocks led the gains in both markets. SK Hynix's market cap reached 2,079.67 trillion won (approximately $1.35 trillion), surpassing Samsung Electronics' common-share market cap of 2,060.81 trillion won by about 18.85 trillion won. Samsung Electronics lost its position as the top Kospi stock by market cap — based on common shares — for the first time in roughly 25 years and seven months.

Korea Exchange Chairman Jeong Eun-bo, speaking at a press briefing for the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club on Monday, pushed back when asked whether the semiconductor-driven rally amounted to speculation. "I don't think it would be appropriate to prejudge it as speculation," he said.

Jeong added that the price-to-earnings ratios of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, calculated on projected earnings this year, were below 7 to 8, while US chipmaker Micron's PER exceeded 10. "Based on projected earnings for this year, the PER for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix is, as far as I know, below 7 to 8, whereas Micron's PER in the United States is above 10," he said.

The semiconductor tilt was equally pronounced in Japan. News that the Japanese government plans to channel at least 370 trillion yen (approximately $2.29 trillion) in combined public and private investment into 17 growth-strategy sectors — including physical AI — drove buying in semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron and fiber-optic cable manufacturer Fujikura, among others.

However, yen weakness — another key variable for Japanese financial markets — persisted. The yen fell as far as 161.81 per dollar during Tokyo trading, its weakest level since July 2024. Markets are weighing the possibility of further intervention by the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan, though analysts expect any such action to have only a limited effect.


forest@heraldcorp.com