KOSPI at 8,000: Why 64% of Korean Stocks Are Left Behind
KOSPI Breaks 8,000 as Large-Cap Stocks Absorb the Rally: Why 64% of Korean Stocks Are Still Below Book Value I've been tracking the KOSPI rally in real-time, and the run toward 8,000 has been one of the most narrow and fragile I've ever seen. on Friday, the KOSPI closed at 7,847.71. It has been hovering just below the 8,000 threshold for three straight sessions now — a psychological barrier that until six months ago would have sounded like fantasy. But the analysts aren't treating it as fantasy anymore. Morgan Stanley dropped a 10,000-point target. Goldman Sachs has 9,000 on the board. JP Morgan is at 10,000 too. The question is no longer whether KOSPI hits 8,000. It is what breaks first when it does. Here is what gets less attention: 523 of the 808 companies listed on the KOSPI — that's 64.73% — are trading below 1x book value as of May 2026, according to data from FnGuide. KOSPI's aggregate price-to-book ratio sits around 1.05x, compared to 3.2x for MSCI W...