AI boom lifts KOSPI in H1 but focus shifts to earnings SEOUL, July 6 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks were South Korea's biggest gainers in the first half of this year, as the AI rally spread beyond semiconductors into infrastructure such as power equipment and cables, according to a Korea Exchange analysis released Monday. Investors now watch whether second-quarter earnings will turn those expectations into results. Top gainers on the country's benchmark KOSPI for the first six months of this year included semiconduc July 6, 2026

Asia markets mostly lower ahead of big news related to Korean chip giants SEOUL, July 06 (AJP) — Asian equities opened the week cautiously Monday, with investors awaiting a string of major developments for South Korea's semiconductor sector, including Samsung Electronics' earnings guidance and SK hynix's landmark U.S. listing. As of 10:50 a.m., the benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.58 percent to 8,033.76, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ tumbled 3.60 percent to 837.32. Retail investors were the market's only net buyers, purchasing 1 trillion July 6, 2026

U.S. stock buying seen keeping won weak through Feb. 2027 SEOUL, July 04 (AJP) - South Korea's won is likely to remain under sustained depreciation pressure through at least February 2027, driven by surging overseas equity investments by Korean households and companies, particularly into U.S. stocks, according to a report released Saturday by the Korea Institute of Finance. The report said the dollar-won exchange rate has undergone a structural upward shift since 2024 and is expected to stay near current levels for another 10 months, July 4, 2026

Bond rally signals sobriety on Korea's economy – weak without chips SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) - From the look of the sovereign bond market in July, South Korea's economy is running solidly on strong exports while inflation, despite energy shocks from the prolonged Gulf crisis, remains broadly contained around 3 percent, suggesting the Bank of Korea may need no more than one additional rate hike from the current 2.50 percent. Compared with the wild swings in equities and the won's slide to near three-decade lows, South Korea's bond market has July 3, 2026

KOSPI rebounds 5.8 percent on chip rally SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) - South Korean stocks staged their sharpest rebound of the year on Friday, as institutional buying and a fresh artificial intelligence catalyst for Samsung Electronics erased most of the previous session's rout in a single day. The benchmark KOSPI surged 5.8 percent to close at 8,088.3. The index added 440.3 points, recovering the bulk of Thursday's 7.9 percent plunge, as a report that Anthropic is in talks with Samsung Electronics to manufacture a cu July 3, 2026

Stock investing in Korea now means buying Samsung and SK hynix SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) — The hotter South Korea's stock market becomes, the narrower it grows. Investing in Korean equities is now synonymous with owning Samsung Electronics or SK hynix. "People don't ask whether you own stocks anymore. They ask whether you own Samjeonnix," insurance planner Lee Min-joo said, referring to the Korean investor shorthand combining Samjeon (Samsung Electronics) and SK hynix. "Those two stocks dominate almost every conversati July 3, 2026

Korea's chip republic meets the law of semiconductor cycles SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) -The market has finally started asking the uncomfortable question. For the last 18 months, investors treated AI memory as a one-way trade. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) shortages, exploding AI server demand and the near-duopoly of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix turned South Korea into the center of the global AI hardware story. After Seoul unveiled a string of government-backed semiconductor mega projects swelling above $1 trillion across Yongin, Honam and July 3, 2026

Samsung defies chip rout as KOSPI sinks SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) -The Seoul market extended losses as foreign selloff continued Friday. Chip stocks were mixed. Samsung Electronics rose 1.6 percent to 290,500 won (about 188 dollars), while SK hynix fell 1.1 percent to 2,163,000 won (about 1,398 dollars). The KOSPI 2.18 percent to 7,281.39. The overnight catalyst was a US chip rout, where the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell as much as 6 percent, its worst two-session stretch since early June, as investors questioned July 3, 2026

AI panic sweeps Asia, hitting Seoul hardest SEOUL, July 02 (AJP) - South Korean stocks led Asia's selloff on Thursday as another wave of panic over artificial intelligence and semiconductor valuations rattled investors, dragging the benchmark KOSPI below the 8,000 mark and the junior KOSDAQ below 900. The benchmark KOSPI tumbled 7.89 percent to close at 7,648.09, its first finish below 8,000 in 15 trading sessions. The index opened down 4.46 percent at 7,933.10, briefly recovered above 8,100 during the session, but sell July 2, 2026

Seoul tanks again, so who pays for the leverage party? SEOUL, July 02 (AJP) - A gambler should know the risks. Reckless leveraged bets often end badly. But when a debt-fueled stock frenzy unravels and defaults pile up, South Korea faces a familiar question: who should bear the cost — individual investors or regulators? Another painful correction hit the Seoul stock market, which until just a week ago had appeared almost invincible after an extraordinary 18-month rally. The KOSPI tumbled nearly 8 percent on Thursday, while the K July 2, 2026