South Korea's stock market overtakes Canada as world's seventh largest
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · May 7
South Korea's stock market overtakes Canada as world's seventh largest
9 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · May 7
Korea-listed companies reached a combined market value of $4.59 trillion, versus Canada's $4.5 trillion, after a 71% rise this year.
Samsung Electronics, recently topping a $1 trillion valuation, and SK Hynix have both more than doubled as investors piled into AI chip leaders.
Canada's market has risen about 7% this year, but South Korea's stronger gains highlight how artificial-intelligence demand is reshaping global equity rankings.
While its market soars, why are South Korea's own retail investors still betting big on U.S. stocks?
With tech giants like Google designing custom chips, can Samsung and SK Hynix sustain their market dominance?
Could South Korea's critical energy vulnerabilities threaten the entire global AI hardware supply chain?
AI Semiconductor Dominance Propels South Korea and Taiwan to Top 10 Global Equity Markets in 2026
Overview
In early 2026, South Korea and Taiwan experienced remarkable stock market surges, overtaking major Western economies like the UK and Canada. This growth was driven by booming demand for AI semiconductors, with South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix stocks soaring over 80%, and Taiwan's TSMC shares rising more than 40%. South Korea's government supported this rise through pro-market policies and significant investments in AI and semiconductor technologies, fueling investor optimism. However, geopolitical tensions between the US and China and industry cyclicality pose risks to sustaining this growth. Still, these developments mark a major shift in global capital toward Asian tech leaders at the heart of the AI revolution.