<div id="readability-page-1"><div><p>JPMORGAN Chase &amp; Co raised its targets for South Korean stocks for the second time in less than a month, citing improvement in the semiconductor cycle, corporate governance reforms and industrial-sector growth.</p><p>The Wall Street bank lifted its base target for the Kospi to 9,000 and its bull-case target to 10,000, implying a 33 per cent upside from Friday’s close. That compares with base and bull targets of 7,000 and 8,500 set in late April.</p><p>Strategists are racing to upgrade their outlook on Korean equities, buoyed by earnings growth fuelled by the global AI boom.</p><p>The Kospi surged as much as 5.1 per cent on Monday to an intraday record of 7,876.60, extending its year-to-date rally to around 86 per cent and cementing its status as one of the world’s top performers.</p><p>JPMorgan’s move follows Goldman Sachs, which last week raised its Kospi target to 9,000, citing Asia’s strongest earnings momentum.</p><p>While technicals will again look stretched near-term, “key fundamentals of the market remain on track for now — memory cycle conditions, governance reforms, thematic growth,” JPMorgan strategists including Mixo Das wrote in a note.</p><div><div><h3>Navigate Asia in<br/>a new global order</h3><p>Get the insights delivered to your inbox.</p></div></div><p>“In these unique conditions, we believe it remains appropriate to stay positioned for further upside and not preemptively anticipate a cycle-end.”</p><p>As Kospi’s gains extend, overheating signals are also growing. The index has been in overbought territory every session this month, based on its 14-day relative strength index. Market breadth is also narrow, with only about 150 stocks in the 835-member benchmark rising on Monday.</p><p>Steve Brice, Standard Chartered’s global chief investment officer, said there’s heightened risk of a correction in the coming weeks. The bank recently downgraded semiconductors to neutral from overweight. </p><div><div><div><p>SEE ALSO</p><div><div><div><div><p><img height="5464" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/businesstimes/849ebc3eba319d3c604b2f0e2418a849f2dd94401a5c05d3b88bddce5c2c7329/query-ZHByPTEmZj13ZWJwJnc9MjQw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="8192" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/businesstimes/849ebc3eba319d3c604b2f0e2418a849f2dd94401a5c05d3b88bddce5c2c7329/query-ZHByPTEmZj13ZWJwJnc9MjQw"/></p></div><p></p><h3><span>South Korean shares hit all-time high as ‘ants’ join global rush to buy AI stocks</span></h3><p></p></div></div><div><div><div><p><img height="819" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/businesstimes/c1751970e1d95fd9dc561bfc81d32d8be46c64cb72db58f06ca819105dd44704/query-ZHByPTEmZj13ZWJwJnc9MjQw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="1228" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/businesstimes/c1751970e1d95fd9dc561bfc81d32d8be46c64cb72db58f06ca819105dd44704/query-ZHByPTEmZj13ZWJwJnc9MjQw"/></p></div><p></p><h3><span>South Korea’s current account surplus surges to record on chips</span></h3><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><p>“This is very much a crowded trade now,” he said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “So we wouldn’t be surprised at all to see some sort of short-term correction coming through.”</p><p>Domestic retail investors have been a key source of support for the latest leg of the rally, adding nearly 6 trillion won (S$5 billion) worth of Kospi shares this month. Foreign investors have been taking profit, selling more than 7 trillion won on a net basis. </p><p>The next two years may mark a sustained upcycle for memory chips, driven by average selling prices and volumes, the strategists added.</p><p>Memory-chip stocks account for 50 per cent of the weight in the Korean equity benchmark and have driven about 70 per cent of the gains this year. BLOOMBERG</p><div><p>Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. <span>Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter.</span> Delivered to your inbox. Free.</p></div></div></div>

SOXX

MKOR

FLKR

SOXL

<p>JPMorgan Chase & Co has raised its targets for South Korean stocks, increasing the base target for the Kospi to 9,000 and the bull-case target to 10,000, reflecting a 33% upside from the previous close. This adjustment is driven by improvements in the semiconductor cycle and corporate governance reforms. The Kospi has surged 86% year-to-date, making it one of the top-performing indices globally. However, concerns about potential corrections are emerging as the market shows signs of overheating, with a narrow breadth of stock performance.</p>

JPMorgan hikes Kospi bull case target to 10,000 on memory boom