Closing figures including the Kospi index are displayed on an electronic board in the dealing room of Hana Bank’s headquarters in Jung District, central Seoul, on May 13. [NEWS1]
KB Securities on Thursday raised its year-end Kospi target by 40 percent, from 7,500 to 10,500 points, becoming the first major domestic brokerage to officially forecast the index crossing the 10,000 mark.
Hyundai Motor Securities had previously floated a 12,000-point scenario, but that was conditional. KB Securities is setting above 10,000 points as its base case target range for the end of the year, as it published in its strategy report.
The brokerage said current market conditions are stronger than they were in the 1980s — a period of low oil prices, low interest rates and a weak dollar that sent the Kospi up roughly eightfold over four years.
"Upward revisions to earnings estimates driven by expanded AI investment are leading the market higher," said KB Securities analyst Lee Eun-taek. "Corporate earnings are improving faster than the index is rising, which is also easing valuation concerns."
KB Securities projected that combined operating profit for Kospi-listed companies would reach 919 trillion won ($616.3 billion) this year, nearly triple last year's figure. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix alone are expected to see their combined operating profit surge from around 91 trillion won last year to 630 trillion won this year, and 906 trillion won next year.
The brokerage identified memory semiconductors and humanoid robots as the primary beneficiaries of the AI era, arguing that demand for high-performance memory and robotic infrastructure will accelerate as AI services grow more sophisticated. "Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Hyundai Motor are likely to be reappraised not merely as manufacturers, but as strategic assets that determine the performance of AI infrastructure," Lee said.
On bubble concerns, KB Securities said the risk of a near-term collapse was limited, as no decisive warning signals — such as a recession or a sharp spike in interest rates — had yet materialized. The brokerage expected AI-related stocks to continue dominating market flows, highlighting semiconductors, robotics, energy and the space industry as the next generation of market leaders.
Korean stocks opened at a new high on Thursday, attempting to reach another historic milestone of 8,000. After starting 0.38 percent higher compared to the previous trading session, the benchmark Kospi added 71.25 points, or 0.91 percent, to a fresh peak of 7,915.26 as of 9:15 a.m.
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