South Korean stock market breaks 9,000 points for first time, KOSPI surges 2.25%

## South Korean stock market breaks 9,000 points for the first time South Korean stocks surged more than 2% on Thursday, breaking through the 9,000-point mark for the first time in history. Investors flocked to chipmakers amid the Fed's hawkish stance and uncertainty over the Iran situation. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 199.6 points, or 2.25%, at 9,063.84, after hitting an intraday high of 9,106.07. The index rose for the sixth consecutive trading day, boosted by optimism over artificial intelligence (AI) and related industries. ## Heavy trading volume, large net foreign buying Trading volume was huge, with 505.9 million shares traded, worth 49.9 trillion won (approximately $32.7 billion). Foreign investors net bought 1.3 trillion won, while retail and institutional investors together net sold 1.2 trillion won. The index reversed the overnight decline on Wall Street after Fed policymakers hinted that rate hikes were inevitable to curb inflation. ## Chip stocks drive KOSPI higher Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said the rise in shares of South Korea's two major chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, was the main driver behind the sustained rally in the KOSPI. "Investors expect semiconductor companies to gain greater pricing power due to persistent supply bottlenecks," the analyst said. Risk appetite also revived on expectations that the U.S.-Iran war would soon end. The Fed's decision to hold rates steady for the fourth consecutive time appeared to have limited impact on investor sentiment. ## Editor Editor: Yu Jian SF069