To The Moon

Asian stock markets broadly rebounded on March 10, with South Korea leading the gains. The KOSPI index rose about 5.48% to close at 5,532.

Looking at single-day performance, $Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3x Shares(KORU)$ led the gains with a rise of 15.69%, followed by $iShares MSCI South Korea ETF(EWY)$ up 5.65%, $Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF(FLKR)$ up 5.39%, and $Matthews Korea Active ETF(MKOR)$ up 4.78%. Several Korea-focused ETFs climbed alongside the strong rebound in the Korean equity market.

The direct trigger for the improvement in market sentiment came from a recent statement by US President Donald Trump, who said that the military conflict related to Iran could end soon. As expectations of easing geopolitical tensions increased, oil prices fell sharply, with WTI crude dropping 5.55%, and global risk assets staged a broad rebound.

The rebound was first reflected in the US market overnight. On March 9, the US semiconductor sector rallied strongly, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising about 3.9%. Investors believed that if Middle East tensions ease, risks to energy supply and global supply chains could decline, prompting funds to rotate back into technology stocks. AI-related companies remained the focus of capital flows, and the chip and data center supply chains became major drivers of the market’s gains.

The rally in US semiconductor stocks quickly transmitted to Asian markets. When the Korean market opened on March 10, it surged rapidly, with semiconductor heavyweights becoming one of the key drivers. Samsung Electronics rose about 9.6% while SK Hynix jumped roughly 12.6%. Given their significant weighting in the KOSPI index, the surge in these two stocks helped lift the broader market sharply.

Memory chips remain the central focus of the industry. As demand for AI servers continues to expand, high-bandwidth memory has become one of the most constrained components in the market. Industry data show that AI servers require significantly more DRAM than traditional servers, with some next-generation AI platforms using several times the memory capacity of earlier systems. This surge in demand has directly boosted orders for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Recent industry developments have further strengthened expectations. Korean media reported on March 9 that Nvidia’s next-generation AI platform Vera Rubin may adopt HBM4 memory supplied by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The platform is expected to be widely used in future AI servers, and if confirmed, it would further solidify the two Korean companies’ positions in the high-end AI memory market.

At the same time, global investment in AI infrastructure continues to accelerate. TSMC reported that its revenue for the first two months of the year grew about 30% year over year, largely driven by demand for AI chips. Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta plan to invest more than $650 billion in AI infrastructure this year, and the rapid expansion of data centers continues to support demand for computing power and memory.

From an industry-cycle perspective, AI server demand is reshaping the DRAM market structure. Institutions expect that by 2028, AI-related demand could account for 20% to 25% of total global DRAM demand. As production lines shift toward HBM, traditional DRAM supply is being squeezed, keeping the overall supply-demand balance relatively tight.

Overall, the rebound in Korean equities appears to have been triggered by easing geopolitical tensions, but the deeper driver remains the semiconductor cycle. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as the two largest AI memory suppliers in the world, continue to benefit from the expansion of AI computing infrastructure. As a result, rallies in US semiconductor stocks often translate directly into sharp rebounds in the KOSPI index.

Related ETF overview:

$iShares MSCI South Korea ETF(EWY)$ is the largest Korea broad-market ETF with total assets of about $17.93 billion and an expense ratio of 0.59%. It tracks the MSCI Korea Index and holds major positions in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

$Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF(FLKR)$ manages about $553 million in assets with a very low expense ratio of 0.09%. It tracks the FTSE Korea Index and holds 156 stocks, offering a more diversified portfolio compared with EWY.

$Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3x Shares(KORU)$ is a triple-leveraged ETF that tracks the Korean equity market, with total assets of about $1.07 billion and an expense ratio of 0.75%. It is typically used for short-term trading to amplify market movements.

$Amplify Samsung SOFR ETF(SOFR)$ is a thematic ETF focused on Samsung-related holdings, with total assets of about $398 million and an expense ratio of 0.20%. Its portfolio is highly concentrated in companies linked to the Samsung supply chain.

$PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF(KDEF)$ focuses on the Korean defense industry, managing about $165 million in assets with an expense ratio of 0.65%. It mainly invests in Korean military and defense equipment companies.

$Matthews Korea Active ETF(MKOR)$ is an actively managed Korea ETF with about $115 million in assets and an expense ratio of 0.79%, where fund managers actively select growth-oriented Korean companies.