Korea's KOSPI index broke through 6,600 on April 27, closing at 6,615.03 (+2.15%), pushing the combined market cap of both Korean exchanges above KRW 6,100 trillion for the first time ever.
What drove it
SK Hynix hit an all-time high intraday and closed at KRW 1,312,000 (+7.36%), extending its YTD gain to +99.7%. The driver: HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) demand from Nvidia and AMD. SK Hynix Q1 2026 operating margin reached 72%. Foreign investors bought over KRW 5 trillion of Samsung + SK Hynix in April alone. Same day, Japan's Nikkei 225 crossed 60,000 for the first time in history (+1.38%).
What the big banks say
JP Morgan raised its KOSPI target to 7,000 (base) / 8,500 (bull) on April 17. Goldman Sachs upgraded to 8,000 on April 20, citing +220% EPS growth forecast for 2026. Both institutions note KOSPI's forward PER of 7.5~8.2x remains below the historical peak of 10x.
3 checkpoints before chasing
- FOMC tone (April 30): Rate hold is near-certain (99%+), but a hawkish signal risks USD rebound and foreign outflows.
- KRW/USD 1,450~1,480 range: At this range, foreign investors earn stable dollar-denominated returns. Above 1,500, incentives diminish.
- Samsung Q2 HBM guidance (April 30 conference call): Upside confirmation = rally has legs; miss = correction risk.
Base case: neutral-to-bullish. April 30 is the pivotal checkpoint.
For the full analysis in Korean, visit Snakestock
