South Korea overtakes India to become world’s sixth largest stock market; here’s why

In yet different setback, South Korea’s banal marketplace has overtaken India to go the world’s sixth-largest equity marketplace by value. Last week, India was overtaken by Taiwan to go the 5th largest banal market.

Within a week, India has fallen from sixth to the seventh rank.In the cases of some South Korea and Taiwan, the banal marketplace rally is fuelled by a almighty surge successful semiconductor giants that are benefiting from the planetary artificial quality boom.According to information compiled by Bloomberg, the combined marketplace worth of companies listed successful South Korea has climbed 86% this twelvemonth to scope $5 trillion. In contrast, India’s marketplace capitalisation has slipped to astir $4.8 trillion.The crisp emergence successful Korean equities has been led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, some of which precocious crossed the $1 trillion valuation mark. Their enactment successful AI memory-chip exertion has helped propel the Kospi scale to gains of much than 100% successful 2026. South Korea has besides overtaken respective large markets this year, including Canada, Germany, the UK and France.

Ross McGarry, Senior Investment Analyst astatine Asset Value Investors, said South Korea’s catch-up with India marks a important accomplishment for a marketplace that until precocious viewed the Kospi 5,000 level arsenic an ambitious semipermanent goal.

However, helium noted that overmuch of the rally has been driven by the semiconductor cycle, with Samsung and SK Hynix accounting for a ample stock of the gains. According to him, the sustainability of the market’s re-rating volition beryllium connected whether broader firm governance reforms tin instrumentality hold.India’s market, meanwhile, has faced headwinds from a weakening rupee, sustained overseas capitalist withdrawals and a comparatively constricted beingness of companies straight tied to the AI infrastructure theme.Despite the displacement successful banal marketplace rankings, India remains the larger economy. International Monetary Fund estimates spot India’s gross home merchandise astatine $4.15 trillion, compared with South Korea’s GDP of $1.93 trillion. India besides continues to fertile among the fastest-growing large economies successful the world.Last week, Taiwan moved up of India successful presumption of banal marketplace capitalisation, helped mostly by the bonzer emergence of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

(TSMC), the world's biggest declaration chipmaker.The latest displacement placed Taiwan arsenic the world's fifth-largest banal market, down lone the United States, China, Japan and Hong Kong.Much of Taiwan's emergence successful the planetary rankings tin beryllium traced to TSMC's outsized power connected the section market. The institution present represents astir 42% of the benchmark index, underscoring the precocious attraction wrong Taiwan's equity market.

TSMC shares person surged 46% truthful acold this year, driven by beardown capitalist enthusiasm for artificial quality and the company's ascendant presumption successful semiconductor manufacturing.The rally highlights however the AI-led roar successful exertion stocks has disproportionately benefited economies with heavy vulnerability to precocious spot production, peculiarly Taiwan and South Korea.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views connected the banal market, different plus classes oregon idiosyncratic concern absorption tips fixed by experts are their own. These opinions bash not correspond the views of The Times of India.)