South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index vaulted through the 7,700 level for the first time in history on May 11, 2026, as an unrelenting artificial intelligence boom overpowered escalating geopolitical fears. The index surged 3.85% to 7,786.73, extending a rally that added roughly ₩280 trillion in market capitalization in a single session. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also scored a fresh record, climbing 0.78% to 63,201.36, cementing a historic day for Asian equities.
The advance was fueled chiefly by the global AI supply chain, which has turned South Korean semiconductor giants into investor favorites. Samsung Electronics jumped over 5% and SK hynix surged more than 8%, with both stocks closing at all-time highs. Samsung recently crossed the $1 trillion market-cap milestone, only the second Asian firm to do so after TSMC. Behind the momentum: South Korea’s semiconductor exports rocketed 139% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, driven by soaring demand for memory chips in AI data centers.
The rally’s resilience stood out against a tense geopolitical backdrop. The United States rejected the latest Iran peace proposal and threatened to continue military strikes, normally a trigger for risk-off behavior. Yet traders ignored the headlines, focusing instead on AI-driven growth. Goldman Sachs had already labeled South Korea its “highest conviction” market in Asia, a view vindicated by the KOSPI’s ascent to become the world’s seventh-largest equity market, surpassing Britain and Canada.
The session underscored how deeply the AI narrative has reshaped global capital flows. Rather than fleeing to traditional safe havens, investors poured money into Asian technology stocks, interpreting AI infrastructure spending as a long-term growth catalyst. For now, the combination of AI optimism and robust export data appears powerful enough to keep the bull market running, even amid geopolitical noise.
