South Korea Becomes 6th-Largest Market After Taiwan, Pushes India To 7th Spot Amid AI Rally

AI-triggered rally has driven the South Korean market to record highs, while pushing down the Indian market to the 7th rank at the global level in terms of market capitalization.

South Korea’s Kospi is now the sixth biggest market in terms of m-cap at $5.04 trillion, following Taiwan, which holds the fifth position after surpassing the Indian market.

The Indian market’s market capitalization stood at $4.84 trillion, while Taiwan maintained the fifth position with $5.15 trillion m-cap.

AI-triggered rally has taken markets of South Korea and Taiwan at the record high, while the absence of AI stock has pushed the Indian market to the rank of 7th from earlier 5th within a span of one month.

South Korea’s Kospi Up 221%

Kospi (the Korean Composite Stock Price Index) is the benchmark

index of the Korea Exchange, which has offered a phenomenal return to investors in 2026. The index is up 221 per cent or almost 6000 points on a year-to-date basis. Its current market capitalization as of June 2 (7:30 am) stood at 8,691.

Stocks linked to AI and semiconductors have witnessed a massive boom and they account for major portion in both the Taiwan and South Korea markets.

In case of South Korea, Samsung and SK Hynix are the major reasons, as both stocks’ value has soared to record heights driven by AI demand. Over the past one year, Samsung Electronics’ shares rose by 524 per cent to 3,53,000 South Korean won, while SK Hynix, a major leader in chip manufacturing, shares zoomed 1000 per cent to 23,00,000 KRW.

Nifty 50 Down 10% YTD

The Indian market is performing poorly in 2026, with its benchmark index, Nifty 50, down by 10.57 per cent. The absence of AI stocks is outshining the appeal for foreign investors, who are fleeing at a rapid pace.

Taiwan’s rise in the global equity market rankings has been largely fueled by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which now makes up over 42% of the benchmark index, highlighting the market’s heavy concentration. The chip giant’s shares have surged 49% so far this year, driven by booming demand linked to the artificial intelligence rally, where its semiconductors hold a dominant global position.

1% Stocks Drive The Rally

The concentration of wealth is increasing in the global equity market, with a very small cohort of companies driving the overwhelming majority of wealth creation, according to Yes Securities’ latest report: Where the Money Flows – May’ 26′.

Yes Securities’ report highlighted that of the $ 12 trillion increase in global equity market capitalization in CY26 YTD, the top 100 market-cap gainers accounted for approximately $ 11.4 trillion, leaving the remaining 9,900 companies contributing just a fraction of total gains.

The top 100 stocks delivered approximately 33.6% YTD market-cap appreciation versus just 0.6% for the remaining universe, it added.

It implies from the report’s list that India doesn’t have any stock in top 100 stocks list