KOSPI surpasses 3,500 for 1st time amid foreign investors’ AI optimism

The country’s benchmark KOSPI index has surpassed 3,500 for the first time in history, underpinned by strong foreign capital inflows amid accelerating global artificial intelligence (AI) leadership of Korea’s two tech giants, market watchers said Thursday. Many say global capital is reorienting to appreciate Korea’s technological edge and growing role in next-generation infrastructure. Whether the main bourse can build on this momentum to achieve 5,000 points may now depend on whether retail Korean investors decide to rejoin the rally, returning from a yearslong trend of increased holdings in U.S. tech stocks. The market opened Thursday at 3,525.48, up 2.02 percent from Wednesday's close, and surged further to an all-time intraday high of 3,565.71. Propelling the rally was foreign investors, who net purchased over 1.37 trillion won ($976 million) as of 11 a.m. Institutional investors remained as net sellers initially, but have since shifted to net buying. Retail investors net sold over 1.75 trillion won. Further boosting sentiment was Wednesday’s announcement that OpenAI CEO Sam AltWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times