The South Korean Kospi index has surged more than 40% this year, breaking through the 6000 point mark for the first time in history.

The benchmark stock index of South Korea broke through the 6,000 point mark for the first time, with a year-to-date increase of over 40%, ranking among the best-performing stock markets globally. Fueled by a rebound in the US stock market overnight, semiconductor and automotive stocks led the market on Wednesday. In early trading, the Kospi index rose by 0.6% to 6,006.80 points, with a cumulative increase of 43% this year. Samsung Electronics, the largest memory chip manufacturer in the world and a heavyweight stock in the index, rose by 1.3%; SK Hynix, a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia, rose by 0.7%. Automakers Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia rose by 4.6% and 11% respectively. The rise of the Kospi index followed a rebound in the US stock market on Monday after a sharp fall in the AI sector. Meta and AMD reached a huge chip deal, alleviating concerns in the market about the impact of AI technology on existing tech companies. Social media giant Meta announced a plan to purchase AI chips worth over $100 billion from AMD, leading to a 1.0% rise in the Nasdaq composite index, and a 0.8% increase in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.