AI boom takes South Korean stocks to a new all-time high
The securities of Korean tech giants have overcome fears of the consequences of war in the Middle East, Bloomberg states
Photo: Sava Bobov / unsplash
On Tuesday, April 21, the South Korean Kospi index reached the highest level in its history. This, among other things, contributed to the contracts of Korean companies with Mercedes-Benz and the boom in artificial intelligence, writes Bloomberg. Also, investors remain hopeful about the settlement of the conflict in the Middle East amid the upcoming negotiations between Iran and the U.S., notes CNBC.
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On April 21, South Korea's Kospi index rose by 2.72%, closing at its all-time high of 6388.47. Thanks to this surge, the index fully compensated for the losses incurred due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East (at the minimum since the end of February Kospi fell on March 31 by 19% - since then it has added about 21%). The main driver of growth for the South Korean index was the technology sector, indicates CNBC: shares of tech giant Samsung Electronics rose on April 21 by 2.1%, and quotes chipmaker SK Hynix soared by 4.97%.
The market was given additional impetus by the growth of shares of leading South Korean battery manufacturers, triggered by their new agreements with Mercedes-Benz. In particular, Samsung SDI, whose quotes jumped 19% on April 21, reaching the highest level since August 2023, agreed with the German automaker to supply it with high-nickel batteries for next-generation electric SUVs. South Korean newspaper Maeil Business valued the deal at more than 10 trillion won ($6.8 billion). Thus, it stated, Samsung SDI has received orders from all three "major German premium car brands": Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. Mercedes-Benz also promised to deepen its expanding partnership with another South Korean battery maker, LG Energy Solution. Its shares rose 11% on April 21 against this backdrop.
In addition to the South Korean market, other key indices of the Asia-Pacific region showed positive dynamics on April 21: Japanese Nikkei 225 rose by 0.89% (to 59349.17), Indian Nifty 50 added 0.73% (to 24 543.3), and Hong Kong Hang Seng rose by 0.33% (to 26448.08). The only exception was Australia's S&P/ASX 200, which showed a token decline of 0.04% to close at 8,949.4.
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This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
