South Korea’s KOSPI Breaks 7,000 Ceiling To Hit a New Record High

South Korea’s KOSPI broke through 7,000 for the first time in history on Wednesday. The index closed 6.45% higher at a record 7,384.56 in a rally driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The benchmark is up roughly 75% year-to-date after gaining 76% in 2025, its strongest year since 1999.

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Notably, Samsung Electronics jumped 14.4%, lifting its market value above $1 trillion. It has become the second Asian company, after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), to reach that mark.

SK Hynix climbed 10.6% to a fresh all-time high. Together, the two companies account for roughly 44% of the KOSPI’s total market capitalization.

Global demand for artificial intelligence hardware has emerged as a key driver shaping equity market performance. Meanwhile, easing tensions between the United States and Iran have further supported risk sentiment across Asian markets.

Bullish Bets on iShares South Korea ETF Surge 600% in Weeks

Meanwhile, South Korea’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 53.6 in April, the highest reading since February 2022. At the same time, exports climbed for an 11th straight month in April. The data has anchored the rally in fundamentals.

Bullish positioning on the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) has also reached extreme levels. Call option notional open interest hit a record $5.5 billion last week. The Kobeissi Letter described the shift in a recent X post.

“The total dollar value of outstanding bullish bets has risen +600% over the last several weeks. To put this into perspective, weekly call open interest did not exceed $700 million before 2025,” the post read.

Net inflows into EWY have reached approximately $6.3 billion year to date. The fund has gained 68% in 2026 and surged 181% over the past 15 months, making it the top-performing major equity market globally.

The Kobeissi Letter said investors are positioning for further upside in South Korean equities.

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