On the 22nd, when the KOSPI index broke through 5,000 points during intraday trading, record numbers followed one after another in the domestic stock market. Samsung Electronics, for the first time ever as a single company, surpassed 1,000 trillion won in market capitalization. Brokerages raised the KOSPI upper bound for this year to the 5,500 range, and the foreign house JP Morgan even put forward a ‘6,000 points’ outlook.

Samsung Electronics (including preferred shares) surpassed 1,000 trillion won in market capitalization during the session that day. Having once fallen to the so-called ‘40,000-won Electronics’ at the end of 2024, Samsung Electronics, backed by the semiconductor boom sparked by artificial intelligence (AI), saw its market capitalization roughly triple in just over a year. This is the first time a single company on the KOSPI has exceeded a market capitalization of 1,000 trillion won.

On this day, battery stocks rose as expectations for the commercialization of batteries used in robots were reflected in the market. Samsung SDI surged 18.67% to close at 384,500 won, and at one point during the session rose to 385,500 won, setting a new 52-week high. LG Energy Solution (5.70%), LG Chem (5.89%), POSCO Future M (8.23%), and POSCO Holdings (2.42%) also climbed. Lee Jae-Won, an analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, “Semiconductors and robots (autos, secondary batteries) brought the KOSPI to 5,000,” adding, “Earnings estimates are not turning down and continue to rise.”

Brokerage stocks also benefited from the KOSPI bull market. Kiwoom Securities (5.83%), Korea Financial Holdings (3.27%), Samsung Securities (2.70%), Mirae Asset Securities (0.34%), and NH Investment & Securities (1.56%) rose. KOSPI turnover reached 32 trillion won that day, the highest since January 11, 2021 (44 trillion won).

Robot-related stocks also led the current advance. On the 6th at CES, the largest consumer electronics and information technology exhibition in the world, Hyundai Motor unveiled the humanoid robot Atlas, and expectations grew. Hyundai Motor closed at 529,000 won (-3.64%) that day, taking a brief breather, but looking only at the rally from the 6th through the previous day, the gain came to as much as 85%. The market has strong expectations for further gains. Samsung Securities raised its target price for Hyundai Motor to 850,000 won that day.

As the KOSPI rose faster than expected, brokerages have been raising their forecasts for this year KOSPI in quick succession. SK Securities revised its target from 4,800 to 5,250, and Korea Investment & Securities from 4,600 to 5,560. Hyundai Motor Securities presented an upper bound of 5,500 for this year KOSPI. JP Morgan last month projected that the KOSPI could top 6,000 under a bull market scenario.

Kim Jae-Seung, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, “All of the bullish factors for the KOSPI last year remain valid this year,” adding, “With a focus on semiconductors and machinery, a favorable environment for the securities sector will continue.”