South Korea Kospi enters bull market as AI trade roars back

South Korean stocks rallied on August 13, 2026, pushing the benchmark Kospi into a technical bull market. The index surged more than 4% in early trading, bringing its gain from the July 30, 2026 low to roughly 23%, according to LSEG data.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the market's two largest constituents, led the advance. Samsung rose over 4% and SK Hynix climbed more than 7% as investors returned to technology hardware names.

The rebound reflects renewed confidence in artificial intelligence spending after recent earnings from global tech giants showed continued heavy investment. South Korea's market is particularly sensitive to this trend because memory-chip makers dominate its equity index.

Fundstrat Global Advisors said the rally could extend further. Mark Newton, the firm's head of technical strategy, noted that the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF has broken above a key technical level, confirming a reversal pattern that he said "looks attractive technically for further near-term gains."

Memory stocks, which were among the hardest hit in the recent technology sell-off, are now outperforming the broader tech sector for the first time since June, according to Fundstrat. Newton called this "a good sign in the short run for Memory within Technology."

Newton remains bullish near term but cautioned that the rally could lose momentum later this month if U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar start climbing again. For now, he said South Korea and memory stocks "look to be the right vehicles for near-term risk-on exposure."