After surpassing 4,500 the previous day, the KOSPI rose past 4,600 on the 7th on the back of a semiconductor rally. It is a steep ascent, with the index up roughly 400 points in four days.

In morning trading, the KOSPI was at 4,601.47, up 75.99 points (1.68%) from the previous session, crossing the 4,600 mark intraday. Since the new year began, the hundred-digit of the index has been changing every session, underscoring the sharp climb. The ‘big two’, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, are extending their rallies and leading the KOSPI higher.

Samsung Electronics traded at 142,400 KRW, up 3,500 KRW (2.52%) from the previous session, and SK hynix at 752,000 KRW, up 26,000 KRW (3.58%), continuing their ‘record-high streak’. After Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the importance of memory semiconductors at ‘CES 2026’, the world’s largest IT exhibition, memory semiconductor stocks are also showing strength.

On the 6th (local time) in the New York market, Micron, a competitor to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, closed up 10.02%, and storage names such as SanDisk (27.56%) and Western Digital (16.77%) also surged.

With memory semiconductors standing out even within the global semiconductor rally, the KOSPI has risen more than 9% this year alone, recording the highest return among major global stock markets.