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Kospi breaks 4,000 points for the first time ahead of APEC, surging nearly 70% this year

Published: 27 Oct. 2025, 19:02

JIN MIN-JI
[email protected]

Electronic display boards at Korea Exchange in western Seoul show Kospi and Kosdaq on Monday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Kospi broke the 4,000 point threshold on Monday ahead of the scheduled meeting between U.S. and Chinese leaders, as well as the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Korea later this week.

The Kospi reached this milestone — driven by the semiconductor, shipbuilding and entertainment sectors — just four months after it broke 3,000 points on June 20. The benchmark index closed at 4,042.83, up 2.57 percent, led by institutional and foreign investors.

The market surge arrived ahead of the meetings between world leaders this week, during which expected trade deals may be reached.

“Trump has taken a somewhat more conciliatory stance toward China while maintaining a restrictive approach toward Canada and Russia,” said Hwang San-hae, an analyst at LS Securities. “Unlike in the past, when China faced tougher measures, the situation has now eased somewhat in China’s favor,” he added, noting the possibility of a trade deal agreement between the world’s two superpowers.

Leaders of the United States and China, who have been in conflict over Beijing's export controls on its rare earths and Washington's threat to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on China, are scheduled to meet in Busan on Thursday.

Strong earnings from tech companies — helped by heavy AI investment and the cyclical chip cycle boom, this time led by cloud and AI servers — have also fueled the latest market surge.

Tech companies are ramping up their AI investment spree, boosting the earnings of their suppliers, including chipmakers. The combined capital expenditure on AI data centers — which demand massive investments in advanced semiconductors and high-performance servers — will approach an estimated $400 billion this year, with the spending projected to reach $2 trillion in 2026, according to a Bloomberg report.

Backed by such expectations, Samsung Electronics shares broke the 100,000 won ($70) mark for the first time, closing at 102,000 won, up 3.24 percent. SK hynix soared 4.9 percent to 535,000 won.

The possibility of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Korea’s shipyards during his visit to Korea for APEC has also pushed up the stock prices of major shipbuilders.

Samsung Heavy Industries skyrocketed 17.34 percent to 29,100 won, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 5.05 percent to 624,000 won. Hanwha Ocean climbed 3.33 percent to 139,700 won.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first visit to Korea in 11 years to attend APEC, during which he will meet President Lee Jae Myung, has also raised expectations for the removal of an unofficial ban on Korean content, upping the entertainment stocks.

HYBE went up by 7.47 percent to 309,500 won, and CJ ENM accelerated 2.95 percent to 69,800 won.

The Kospi has shown steep growth this year, rising 68.5 percent since the start of the year — the fastest pace among the Group of 20 nations' key equity indices this year, followed by Nikkei 225, which rose 25.98 percent in the same period. The Japanese index also crossed 50,000 for the first time on Monday, boosted by expectations for a large stimulus package from new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Korea’s tech-heavy Kosdaq rose 2.2 percent to close at 902.70, bouncing back up to above 900 points since April last year. The Korean won was quoted at 1,431.70 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down by 0.38 percent from the previous trading session of 1,437.10.

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]