# KOSPI Storms Back Above 7,000 as Alphabet Reignites the AI Trade > Seoul's main index leapt 4.4 percent to close at 7,096.89, retaking the 7,000 mark after Alphabet lifted its spending plans and eased fears that the artificial intelligence boom was running out of road. - Source: Korea First - Canonical URL: https://koreafirst.tv/article/kospi-storms-back-above-7-000-as-alphabet-reignites-the-ai-trade - Author: Korea First Staff - Section: Money - Published: 2026-07-23T10:56:58.213Z - Updated: 2026-07-23T11:45:50.428Z - Tags: KOSPI, stock market, Alphabet, artificial intelligence, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix --- Korean stocks surged on Thursday, with the benchmark KOSPI vaulting back above the 7,000 mark it had lost only days earlier. The index closed at 7,096.89, a gain of 299.19 points, or 4.4 percent, its strongest single-day showing in some time and the first close above 7,000 in five trading sessions. The rally was set in motion overseas. A fresh signal from Alphabet, the parent of Google, that it intends to spend even more heavily on artificial intelligence infrastructure sent a jolt of confidence through technology shares worldwide, and nowhere did it land harder than in a market as chip-heavy as Seoul's. ## Alphabet resets the mood The trigger was a number. Alphabet lifted its capital spending guidance for the year to a range of 195 billion to 205 billion dollars, up from an earlier plan of 180 billion to 190 billion. For investors who had begun to worry that the AI buildout was cresting, the increase read as a vote of confidence from one of the field's biggest spenders. Kim Joong-han of Samsung Securities captured the shift in sentiment, saying the higher spending guidance showed that concerns about a slowdown in the AI cycle and in capital expenditure had been overdone. That reassurance flowed straight into the shares most tied to the theme. ## Chipmakers do the heavy lifting Korea's two semiconductor giants led the charge. Samsung Electronics climbed 3.65 percent and SK hynix rose 4.86 percent, the pair supplying much of the index's advance as memory chips remain the country's most direct link to global AI demand. When spending on data centers goes up, orders for the high-bandwidth memory these firms make tend to follow. The enthusiasm ran even hotter on the junior market. The tech-leaning KOSDAQ jumped 5.22 percent to close at 790.28, a gain of 39.19 points, and the move was brisk enough to trip a brief trading halt after the KOSDAQ 150 leapt more than 6 percent and the broader index cleared 5 percent. ## A firmer won caps the day The currency joined the risk-on mood. The won strengthened by 13.3 won against the dollar to trade at 1,466.8, a move that reflects money flowing toward Korean assets and takes some of the pressure off importers. A steadier won also tends to make foreign investors more comfortable holding local shares, reinforcing the day's gains. For all the exuberance, the session was a reminder of how tightly Seoul's fortunes are bound to a single global story. The same AI narrative that powered Thursday's rebound can just as quickly reverse it, and a market that lives and dies by chip demand will keep taking its cues from the spending decisions made far from home. --- Originally published by Korea First. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://koreafirst.tv/article/kospi-storms-back-above-7-000-as-alphabet-reignites-the-ai-trade.