The Kospi gained 22 percent from its July 30 low, pushing the index toward a technical bull market. The benchmark rose as much as 4.8 percent on Thursday, extending a recovery from a historic selloff the prior month.
Memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. led the advance, each posting single-day gains exceeding 5 percent on Thursday. On Aug. 9, both stocks surged nearly 30 percent—their largest single-day percentage gain on record—allowing the companies to recover steep losses from the preceding downturn.
The primary driver is a revival in the global AI trade. Major technology firms are expanding data center capacity and AI capabilities, generating direct orders for advanced memory chips. That demand signal distinguishes the current cycle from more cyclical patterns seen in previous chip downturns.
The Kospi's July 31 session offered an early marker of the momentum, with the index spiking 17.91 percent to close at 6,595.45. Seoul shares ended higher for three consecutive sessions following that close, with foreign and institutional investors actively buying the major chipmakers throughout the period.
A 22 percent advance from a recent trough meets the standard definition of a technical bull market, indicating a shift in market sentiment. Critics note the rally remains exposed to swings in global technology cycles, and the durability of current AI capital spending is a point of scrutiny among some market participants. South Korea's export-dependent economy has historically amplified both upside and downside moves in semiconductor demand.
The counterargument is structural: orders for high-bandwidth memory tied to AI accelerators are underpinned by multi-year data center build-outs, not short-cycle consumer electronics demand. Whether that distinction holds through the next inventory correction remains the central question for the Kospi's trajectory.
