[Good Morning Market] KOSPI Attempts Break Above 6,000 on U.S. Market Rebound

As anxiety triggered by artificial intelligence (AI) in the U.S. stock market has eased and the market has rebounded, there is an outlook that, backed by this momentum, the domestic stock market will attempt to break through the 6,000 level on the KOSPI during intraday trading.

The KOSPI index rose 94.58 points from the previous trading day, breaking through the 5,900 mark for the first time on the 23rd, as an electronic board in Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul displayed the domestic market status. On the same day, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,443 won, down 3.6 won from the previous trading day. 2026.2.23 Reporter Kang Jinhyung

On the 25th, Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The domestic stock market fell in the early session the previous day due to tariff-related uncertainty and the correction in U.S. AI stocks, but it ultimately closed higher, supported by expanding buying, mainly from retail investors, amid expectations of a semiconductor super cycle. Today, although there will still be profit-taking pressure following the sharp gains of the previous day as investors wait for Nvidia's earnings, the market is expected to attempt an intraday break above 6,000 on the KOSPI, helped by the rebound in the U.S. stock market."

The U.S. stock market succeeded in rebounding the previous day. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 370.44 points (0.76%) from the previous day to close at 49,174.50. The S&P 500 Index gained 52.32 points (0.77%) to finish at 6,890.07, and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 236.41 points (1.05%) to close at 22,863.68.

This is interpreted as being driven by the emergence of intraday positive catalysts, such as the signing of a five-year contract between Meta (+0.3%) and AMD (+8.8%), and Anthropic’s partnerships with existing software platforms, which offset negatives like the White House’s mention of imposing a global 15% tariff and a sharp drop in SanDisk (-4.2%) on concerns over intensifying competition in solid-state drives (SSDs).

Market attention is focused on Nvidia’s earnings, which will be announced on the morning of the 26th in Korea. Nvidia’s share price has risen about 3.4% since the beginning of the year, slightly outpacing the S&P 500’s growth rate (0.7%), which contrasts with last year, when Nvidia surged 38.8% for the full year, far outperforming the S&P 500 Index (16.3%).

Although Nvidia’s 12?month forward earnings per share (EPS) has increased 7.6% compared with the start of the year, its share price has been stagnant. This appears to be due to a combination of factors: concerns about profitability spreading from the large capital expenditures (CAPEX) of big tech (large information technology companies); the possibility that major clients such as Amazon and Alphabet will increase the use of their own AI chips; and noise from reduced investment capacity at hardware companies as the software industry is encroached upon by Anthropic.

Researcher Han said, "We believe that whether (Nvidia) can maintain its gross profit margin (GPM) in the mid?70% range, and whether it raises its first?quarter sales guidance this year, will be the real catalysts for share price movements in terms of profitability and guidance. Furthermore, since Nvidia is a major customer of domestic semiconductor companies, this will be an event that justifies the rally in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which reached symbolic share?price levels the previous day."

Even amid instability in the U.S. stock market, the Korean stock market has maintained a solid upward trend, and securities firms expect the KOSPI to move beyond 6,000 toward 7,000. Hana Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, and Kiwoom Securities have all set their upper KOSPI targets at above 7,000.

The previous day, the KOSPI closed at 5,969.64 and the KOSDAQ at 1,165.00. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix hit all-time highs, closing at 200,000 won and 1,005,000 won, respectively.