Korea's stock market by size (market capitalization) rose to No. 6 in the world. The KOSPI index staged an unusual rally on the back of the expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
According to Bloomberg News, as of the 11th, the market capitalization of Korea's stock market was $4.6621 trillion (about 6,876.69 trillion won). The main board came to $4.2201 trillion, and the KOSDAQ market totaled $448.3 billion.
As a result, Korea's market cap overtook Taiwan's to rank sixth globally. The market cap of the Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) was tallied at $4.3319 trillion (135.86 trillion New Taiwan dollars).
The KOSPI index has surged 86% so far this year. As the AI industry grows, semiconductor demand has skyrocketed, sharply lifting the share prices of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
Taiwan's TAIEX, in which TSMC, the world's largest foundry (contract chipmaker), accounts for more than 40% of the index, has risen 44% this year.
Until early this year, Korea's market cap had been outside the global top 10. The domestic stock market size exceeded 3,000 trillion won in Jul. last year, topped 6,000 trillion won for the first time this year, and recently broke through 7,000 trillion won.
With the market surging since the start of the year, Korea also jumped to sixth in the global market-cap rankings. Countries with larger market caps than Korea include the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and India.
Domestic and overseas securities firms are offering upbeat outlooks that the KOSPI index could climb as high as 10,000 points. However, concerns are also growing about the market's rapid spike in a short period and funds concentrating only in semiconductors.