Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) reached $1 trillion in its market capitalization on Wednesday, joining Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd and others in the elite club.
The shares of the memory maker jumped more than 10% on the day as investors continued to rotate into artificial intelligence-exposed chip names.
Inside Samsung Surge
The move extended a rally that has been fueled by a blowout first-quarter profit report and broader strength across South Korea’s semiconductor complex. Samsung delivered its strongest quarterly results with revenue climbing about 70% year over year, marking the company’s highest-ever quarterly sales. Operating profit surged more than 750% from a year earlier.
The surge was also driven by reports that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is exploring potential partnerships with Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) and Samsung to manufacture its processors in the United States.
Samsung’s Profit Surge Fuels Market Euphoria
The gains were not limited to Samsung. SK Hynix was also rising more than 10% to a new all-time high, pushing the KOSPI Index higher. The benchmark surged nearly 6%, at the time of writing, to top 7,300 for the first time, driven by the booming global demand for artificial intelligence.
The KOSPI Index has surged 74% so far this year, following a 76% rally in 2025—its strongest annual performance since 1999—driven in part by the government’s push for market reforms, according to Reuters.
The strong rally also drove the performance in iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (NYSE:EWY), which targets South Korean stocks. The ETF has $20.8 billion in assets under management and trades in an average daily volume of 15 million shares. It charges 0.59% in annual fees.
According to The Kobeissi Letter, EWY soared 68% year to date and 181% over the last 15 months, making it “the best-performing major equity market globally.”
Record Surge in Bullish Options Activity
Investors are piling into South Korean equities, with call option notional open interest tied to EWY hitting a record $5.5 billion last week, according to the letter posted on X on Tuesday.
Traders ramped up bullish positioning in one of the world’s hottest equity markets, as the total value of outstanding bets has risen 600% in recent weeks. The letter added, “Weekly call open interest did not exceed $700 million before 2025,” underscoring how far the market’s options footprint has expanded versus recent history.
Strong Inflows
Beyond derivatives, capital flows into the ETF have also accelerated. EWY has attracted approximately $6.3 billion in inflows year to date, signaling sustained demand from both institutional and retail investors.
The X account said that “Investors are positioning for another leg higher in South Korean stocks.”
Other Korea ETFs Gain Momentum
Other South Korean ETFs – Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (NYSE:FLKR) and Matthews Korea Active ETF (NYSE:MKOR) – also surged.
Below, we highlighted the table showing the YTD, six-month and one-year price performance of three ETFs:
| ETFs | YTD Performance | Six-Month Performance | One-Year Performance |
| EWY | 78.43% | 85.51% | 196.53% |
| FLKR | 76.19% | 80.65% | 183.48% |
| MKOR | 75.62% | 81.96% | 162.06% |
Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate that EWY has a Momentum score in the 95th percentile with a strong price trend in the short, medium and long term.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor.
Photo Courtesy: Grand Warszawski on Shutterstock.com
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