--- title: "JPMorgan hikes Kospi bull case target to 10,000 on memory boom" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/285909368.md" description: "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." datetime: "2026-05-11T08:55:16.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/285909368.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285909368.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/285909368.md) --- # JPMorgan hikes Kospi bull case target to 10,000 on memory boom JPMORGAN Chase & 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. 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. Strategists are racing to upgrade their outlook on Korean equities, buoyed by earnings growth fuelled by the global AI boom. 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. JPMorgan’s move follows Goldman Sachs, which last week raised its Kospi target to 9,000, citing Asia’s strongest earnings momentum. 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. ### Navigate Asia in a new global order Get the insights delivered to your inbox. “In these unique conditions, we believe it remains appropriate to stay positioned for further upside and not preemptively anticipate a cycle-end.” 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. 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. SEE ALSO ### South Korean shares hit all-time high as ‘ants’ join global rush to buy AI stocks ### South Korea’s current account surplus surges to record on chips “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.” 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. The next two years may mark a sustained upcycle for memory chips, driven by average selling prices and volumes, the strategists added. 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 Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. 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