South Korea's benchmark Kospi index soared to record highs on Wednesday, breaking through the 7,000 mark for the first time. The index surged 6.4 percent to 7,384.5 points, driven by a rally in semiconductor stocks, particularly Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Samsung Reaches Trillion-Dollar Market Cap
Samsung Electronics rocketed 14.4 percent to 266,000 KRW (approximately 134.7 pounds), lifting its market capitalization to $1 trillion. This milestone makes Samsung just the second Asian company to achieve a trillion-dollar valuation, following Taiwan's TSMC. Shares in rival SK Hynix also leaped 10.6 percent to 1,601,000 KRW.
Wall Street Surge Fuels Rally
The record rally followed a surge in chip stocks on Wall Street overnight, after U.S. chipmaker AMD forecast second-quarter revenue above analyst expectations. AMD shares surged nearly 12 percent in after-hours trading, sparking a scramble to invest in AI infrastructure. AMD expects second-quarter revenue of roughly $11.2 billion (8.2 billion pounds), ahead of forecasts of $10.5 billion, while its data center business grew 57 percent year on year. Chief Executive Lisa Su stated that the company now expects the server CPU market to exceed $120 billion by 2030 as AI workloads accelerate.
Kospi Heavyweights Lead the Charge
Samsung Electronics accounts for a quarter of the Kospi index. The stock's value has ridden the wave of the AI boom, quintupling in the past 12 months. Samsung has increasingly shifted its focus to memory chips, despite being well known for its cheap home appliances, Galaxy smartphone range, and supplying screens for iPhones. Relentless growth in capital expenditure by tech firms has made chips one of the most powerful and important sectors. Both Samsung and SK Hynix produce chips that tech giant Nvidia and other hyperscalers depend on, with demand turning Samsung into one of the world's most profitable companies.
Analysts see Samsung as having even more room to grow. Neil Wilson, investor strategist at Saxo UK, noted that "anything related to chips and memory is going skywards at the moment." The Kospi index itself has risen by more than 70 percent this year, after gaining 76 percent in 2025, driven by semiconductor stock performance, improvements in corporate governance, and government reforms.
Regional Impact
Other Asian countries are also benefiting from the semiconductor boom. Taiwan's TAIEX index is up 40.1 percent since the start of the year, driven by TSMC's performance. Vietnam is evolving into a significant player in the industry, driven by investments into its semiconductor supply chains.
