Seoul, Feb 21, 2026, 15:45 KST — The market has wrapped up for the day.
- KOSPI in South Korea jumped 2.31% to finish at 5,808.53.
- KOSDAQ slipped 0.58% to finish at 1,154.00.
- The Bank of Korea will hold its next policy meeting this Thursday, Feb. 26.
South Korea’s KOSPI opens Monday at a historic 5,808.53, after surging 2.31% on Friday. Institutional buyers piled in, with chip stocks providing a strong tailwind.
The benchmark jumped 5.48% across the last five sessions, a sharp move that’s put traders right back into conversations about stretched positioning and valuations. That surge tightens the margin for any policy mistakes.
Optimism on the local front is riding on hopes for “investor-friendly measures” to support valuations, but traders aren’t ignoring the Middle East risk fueling the rally. “The risk of a full-scale conflict is not negligible,” said Kim Seok-hwan, analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. He noted investors remain focused on steps to enhance shareholder returns. Korea Joongang Daily
The KOSDAQ lagged, slipping 0.58% to finish at 1,154.00. That gap highlights how gains are still piling up in the big names, not filtering into smaller growth stocks.
A new spark in the chip sector: BlackRock Fund Advisors disclosed a 5% stake in SK hynix after snapping up 36.4 million shares, according to a filing. The fund called it a “simple investment”—not a move to sway management. Korea Joongang Daily
Samsung Electronics continues to be the index’s primary driver, thanks to its significant weighting. Analysts point to high-bandwidth memory demand for AI servers as the main catalyst here. “HBM4 passed customer quality tests without any redesign issues,” said Kim Younggeon at Mirae Asset Securities. Memory prices might jump as much as 30% in the second quarter, according to Ko Youngmin at Daol Investment & Securities. 아시아경제
SK hynix grabbed a 57% share of the high-bandwidth memory market in the fourth quarter last year, according to a Reuters Breakingviews column, while Samsung continues to dominate solid-state drives. This combination keeps Korea Exchange-listed chip giants firmly anchored in KOSPI trading.
The move hasn’t been all in one direction. The Bank of Korea, eyeing the dollar-won pair holding near 1,450, has signaled increased volatility in “major price variables” since February—remarks traders read as a sign that policy remains tight. Korea Joongang Daily
Investors are eyeing the Bank of Korea’s policy decision and updated forecasts set for Thursday, looking for signals that might shake up rates, the won, or foreign flows. Wall Street’s lead and any fresh developments in the U.S.-Iran standoff will likely shape Monday’s open.
