KOSPI Nears 8,000 Mark, Market Watching Oil Price Factors

South Korea's stock market, KOSPI, is drawing near the 8,000-point mark, with developments in the Strait of Hormuz and the South Korea-US defense ministers' meeting emerging as key market concerns.

The current steep rally in KOSPI is surpassing the 'triple-low boom' period of the 1980s and is showing the strongest market momentum since the late 1990s 'dot-com bubble.' While that era saw a concentration solely on the IT industry, the semiconductor sector is now leading the market, and unlike in the past, companies' actual profits are steadily increasing, which is being positively assessed.

Potential factors influencing international oil prices include the possibility of a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Morgan Stanley has warned that oil prices could surge again if a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is prolonged beyond the end of June.

The South Korea-US defense ministers' meeting, held in Washington, primarily addressed the coordination of the transfer timing for wartime operational control. During the meeting, the defense chiefs of both nations also discussed issues such as nuclear submarine cooperation and the normalization of intelligence sharing on North Korea, agreeing to strengthen cooperation for future alliance modernization.