South Korean stocks are making history again:
South Korea has overtaken the UK to become the world's 8th-largest stock market.
This comes as South Korea's total market capitalization has surged +45% year-to-date, to a record $4.04 trillion.
During the same period, the market cap of the UK has risen just +3%, to $3.99 trillion.
By comparison, at the end of 2024, the UK's market was ~2 times the size of the South Korean market.
The historic surge has been driven by Samsung and SK Hynix, two AI memory chip firms, which now account for over 40% of the Kospi index.
The index includes over 800 companies, highlighting how concentrated recent gains have become.
Meanwhile, the US market's value stands at a record $75.04 trillion, surpassing the following 9 markets combined by ~$20 trillion.
The AI revolution is redefining the global economy.
