AI Boom Drives a Rally in Buying of Tech Shares, Pushing South Korea’s Kospi to a Record
AI Boom Drives a Rally in Buying of Tech Shares, Pushing South Korea’s Kospi to a Record
Publish Date: 2026-05-05 23:31:00
Source Domain: www.usnews.com
- South Korea’s Kospi index reached a new record high, gaining nearly 7%, driven primarily by a surge in Samsung Electronics’ stock, which jumped over 13%.
- The rally was fueled by optimism around artificial intelligence growth and hopes for peace in the U.S.-Iran conflict.
- Shares of SK Hynix, another key semiconductor manufacturer, increased by 10% on the day.
- The South Korean market, which was closed for a holiday, reopened with substantial gains of 6.7% at 7,398.34 points, breaking previous records.
- Other Asian markets also saw gains, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 up by nearly 1.0%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite rising by 0.7% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Meanwhile, energy prices continued to decline, with U.S. crude oil slipping to $100.90 and Brent crude further decreasing to $108.37 per barrel.
- Despite mixed U.S. economic reports, the American stock market showed resilience, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq all setting new records.
- Currency markets saw minor fluctuations with the U.S. dollar slightly weakening against the Japanese yen, while the euro strengthened.
