Goldman Sachs strategist maintains bullish outlook on South Korean stocks

Goldman Sachs chief Asia Pacific equity strategist Timothy Moe has reaffirmed a KOSPI target of 12,000 in early September 2026, a call that implies roughly 80% upside from current index levels. The KOSPI had already corrected 27% from its June record high before Moe doubled down. Why Goldman keeps raising its target Goldman Sachs started the year with a 12-month KOSPI target of 8,000, raised it to 9,000 in June, and then pushed it to 12,000 in September. Goldman projects KOSPI constituents will deliver earnings growth between 300% and 360% for the full year 2026. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together account for roughly half of the KOSPI’s total market capitalization. Moe’s core argument is that the market is mispricing how long elevated earnings for these firms will last, contending that an AI-driven supercycle anchored to infrastructure buildout is only partway through its first phase. The AI capex math that underpins the call Goldman projects US big tech capital expenditure on AI-related spending will exceed $1.2 trillion in 2027, a substantial jump from earlier forecasts of approximately $800 billion. Samsung and SK Hynix hold a dominant position in high-bandwidth memory pr...