The KOSPI index is shown on a screen at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Korean stocks closed at a new record high Monday, easily breaching the landmark 7,800-point level, extending the winning streak to the fifth consecutive session, on the back of a bull run by semiconductor shares, despite concerns of a potentially botched peace deal between the United States and Iran.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 324.24 points, or 4.32 percent, to end at a fresh high of 7,822.24 after rising as high as 7899.32.
The index delivered a record-breaking run for the fifth consecutive session, heading toward the unprecedented 8,000-point milestone.
With the bull run, the combined market capitalization of the KOSPI and the secondary bourse KOSDAQ surpassed 7,000 trillion won ($4.75 trillion) for the first time in history Monday.
The combined market cap of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ topped 4,000 trillion won on Jan. 2 and surged to above 6,000 trillion won on April 27.
Monday's surge was largely driven by a sharp rise in large-cap chip shares, despite concerns the peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are on the cusp of falling apart.
Earlier in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran's peace offer is unacceptable, fueling fears the Middle East crisis will continue.
But investors' risk-on appetite was buoyed by optimism over continued growth of the semiconductor demand in line with the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment cycle and the recent tech gains on Wall Street, according to Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
The analyst said Korea's monthly chip exports are forecast to reach an all-time high in May.
Source: Korea Times News
