South Korea and Taiwan Lead Global AI Stock Rally With Gains of 180% and 100%
Updated
Updated · A Wealth of Common Sense · Jun 5
South Korea and Taiwan Lead Global AI Stock Rally With Gains of 180% and 100%
3 articles · Updated · A Wealth of Common Sense · Jun 5
Summary
South Korea has surged nearly 180% and Taiwan more than 100% over the past 12 months, far outpacing the S&P 500's 25% and Nasdaq 100's 34% as AI investing broadens beyond the U.S.
Those markets are heavily concentrated in AI buildout names—SK Hynix, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor together account for more than 20% of their country indexes.
The broader emerging-market AI trade has kept pace with the Nasdaq 100 since the start of 2024, helped by South Korea and Taiwan making up about half of the index; China is up almost 60%, Japan 28% and Thailand 41%.
A sharp Friday reversal showed the rally's fragility, with South Korea down 14% and Taiwan off 7%, but the move still suggests AI is widening investment opportunities beyond a decade of U.S. market dominance.