The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices are displayed on a board at the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 25th. That day, the KOSPI closed at 8,930.30, up 459.28 points (5.42%) from the previous day, while the KOSDAQ ended at 887.81, down 21.50 points (2.36%). Yonhap News
The KOSPI approached the 9,000 level again as the two top chipmakers, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS), surged on a tailwind from Micron Technology’s earnings report. Domestic and international brokerages raised their KOSPI targets in unison as concerns over a chip cycle peak eased, fueling growing expectations of reaching the 10,000 mark.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed at 8,930.30 on Wednesday, up 459.28 points, or 5.42%, from the previous session. The year’s 15th sidecar, a temporary suspension of program buy orders, was triggered, and the index briefly broke above 9,000 during the session. Individuals and foreign investors sold 2.4155 trillion won and 878.3 billion won, respectively, while institutions net purchased 3.3244 trillion won. Of that, net buying by financial investment firms, presumed to reflect individual exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading, accounted for 2.4072 trillion won, driving the index higher.
Micron’s strong earnings are cited as the direct driver of the rebound. Micron posted an earnings surprise in its fiscal 2026 third quarter (March-May), with revenue of $41.456 billion and a gross margin reaching 85%, sending its shares up around 15% in after-hours trading. On Micron’s solid results confirming memory market conditions, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix surged 5.29% and 13.06%, respectively, hitting 350,000 won and 2.91 million won. Samsung Electronics defended its position as the top company by market capitalization, with a gap of 17 trillion won. Shares with stakes in the two chip giants also surged, driving the index higher, including SK Square (5.56%), SK (20.51%), Samsung Life Insurance (3.23%), and Samsung C&T (7.79%). SK rose to 10th place with a market cap of 62.2073 trillion won, surpassing HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Analysts say Micron’s earnings report went beyond a simple earnings surprise, lending weight to the structural growth thesis for the memory chip market. The appeal of domestic chip stocks is also highlighted in terms of valuation. Based on Micron’s share price of $1,200, its effective 2026 forward price-to-earnings ratio (fPER) stands at around 19 times. As of Wednesday, the fPER of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix for this year is just 8.02 times and 9.44 times, respectively. Amid such expectations, Mirae Asset Securities raised its target price for SK hynix from 3.8 million won to 4.2 million won, and KB Securities raised its target for Samsung Electronics from 530,000 won to 550,000 won. Expectations are high that an “earnings-driven rally” will unfold until the preliminary earnings announcements by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, scheduled for early next month. “Micron’s announcement of its strategic customer agreements (SCA) scratched where market participants had an itch,” said Kim Rok-ho, a researcher at Hana Securities. “It is an important change that improves earnings visibility for the memory industry, offering the outlook that memory supply is highly likely to remain tight even after 2027.”
Upward revisions to KOSPI targets followed in succession. JPMorgan raised its 12-month KOSPI target to 12,500, projecting that it could reach 15,000 in a bull market. Goldman Sachs also presented a target of 12,000 earlier this month, and Morgan Stanley maintained its target of 10,500 in a bull market on the 23rd, even after the KOSPI plunged 10%. Among domestic brokerages, Samsung Securities raised its target to 12,600 on Wednesday.
JPMorgan cited profit growth at artificial intelligence (AI) hardware companies, momentum in the industrials sector, improved profitability among financial stocks, and revaluation driven by governance reform (value-up) as drivers of the Korean stock market. In particular, it projected that the memory chip market would show a “higher for longer” cycle, supported by expanding AI investment.
However, excessive concentration in chips, continued foreign selling, and rising volatility across the market are cited as risk factors. As of the 24th, the margin loan balance reached a record high of 38.6328 trillion won, up 539.2 billion won from the previous day. Forced liquidations the same day amounted to 110.7 billion won. The KOSDAQ index closed at 887.81 on Wednesday, down 21.50 points, or 2.36%, from the previous session, sinking back below the 900 level.