The domestic stock market, which had undergone a steep correction due to the Iran crisis, surged more than 5% on the 18th, putting the 6,000-point mark back within sight.
Geopolitical instability in the Middle East and the resulting sharp swings in global oil prices continue, but with the opening of Nvidia's annual conference "GTC 2026," expectations for the expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem have grown again, drawing a large influx of investment funds into the stock market.
The KOSPI closed at 5,925.03, up 284.55 points (5.04%) from the previous trading day. It is the highest level since the United States and Israel bombed Iran at the end of last month.
The KOSPI had traded above 6,000 points through Feb. 27, but plunged right after the Iran war broke out and fell to around 5,000 points early this month.
KOSPI 200 futures spiked on the day, triggering a "buy sidecar." As futures prices stayed more than 5% higher for over a minute, program buy orders were halted for five minutes.
Although the Iran war appears to be dragging on, its impact on the domestic stock market is gradually diminishing. Concerns are being raised that a surge in global oil prices could heighten global inflationary pressure, but analyses are emerging that the AI ecosystem will continue to expand even in this environment.
Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, said on the GTC 2026 stage that "practical demand for AI is increasing with the aim of boosting productivity at worksites across industries," and projected that global semiconductor demand will continue to rise this year into next.
Through this event, analysts said concerns in financial markets about an AI demand "peak-out" have eased significantly. Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Through GTC 2026, a favorable supply-demand environment is forming for foreign investors, centered on the semiconductor sector," adding, "In the process of being repeatedly exposed to the same negative factor of the Iran crisis this month, downside rigidity has appeared, centered on leaders such as semiconductors."
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each jumped 7%–8%. Among the top market-cap stocks, only Hanwha Aerospace slipped slightly, while the rest all finished higher.
While foreigners showed net buying in both the cash and futures markets, institutional funds also flowed in. In the Korea Exchange, foreigners recorded a net purchase of 900 billion won, and institutions were net buyers of 3.1 trillion won. Individuals were net sellers of nearly 4 trillion won.
President Lee Jae-myung held a meeting at the Blue House on "capital market stabilization and normalization," drawing considerable interest from many investors. Lee said the KOSPI "rose nonstop from the 2,500–2,600 range last year to the mid-6,000s without what you would call a real correction, and there was a very uneasy feeling," adding, "It seems we are going through a process of consolidation triggered by a single event." The remarks were interpreted as an acknowledgment of the "overheating" theory raised in some quarters after the KOSPI surged in a short period following the launch of the new administration.
Experts also say that because the KOSPI underwent a correction due to the Iran crisis, investment funds are flowing back into sectors such as semiconductors where earnings improvement is expected.
The KOSDAQ also jumped. The KOSDAQ closed at 1,164.38, up 27.44 points (2.41%) from the previous day.