Home > Business > Finance

JP Morgan: Kospi to hit 5,000 ‘over a two year period’

Published: 13 Jul. 2025, 16:43 Updated: 13 Jul. 2025, 17:28

A sign outside the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase & Co in New York on Sept 19, 2013 [REUTERS/YONHAP]

U.S. investment bank JPMorgan Chase said the benchmark Kospi index could climb to 5,000 within two years and upgraded its view of Korean equities to overweight.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that JPMorgan Chase said Korea's "equity benchmark may rise more than 50 percent from its current level over a two-year period should corporate governance reforms gain momentum."

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,175.77 points on July 11, down 7.46 points, or 0.23 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

The bank raised its investment rating on Korean stocks from neutral to overweight, citing President Lee Jae Myung's pledge to pursue governance reform and his campaign promise to take the Kospi to 5,000 during his term.


“We continue to recommend adding on any volatility as long as the reform process remains on track,” JP Morgan Chase wrote. “Any volatility in global-regional equities over the summer — on tariff concerns, growth slowdown, bond market volatility — could thus quickly invite buying.”


The bank forecast the Kospi would trade between 3,200 and 3,500 for the remainder of the year. The Kospi closed at 3,175.77 on Friday, up 32.38 percent since the start of the year.


JP Morgan Chase also cited the cancelation of a planned spinoff by pharmaceutical company Pharmaresearch as a "positive sign that demonstrates apparent bipartisan support for further reforms."

“Ironically, foreign buying in the market this time around is far more muted, than in early 2024,” JP Morgan Chase wrote. “But given the interest we receive from global investors, we believe this is more a case of investors looking for better entry points.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]