Korea Surpasses Canada as World's Seventh-Largest Stock Market

South Korea's equity market has overtaken Canada's as the world's seventh largest, propelled by insatiable demand for chips powering artificial intelligence.

The total market capitalization of Korea-listed companies has surged 71% this year to $4.59 trillion, while Canada's has climbed about 7% to $4.5 trillion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Samsung Electronics Co., which recently crossed the $1 trillion valuation mark, and SK Hynix Inc. have both more than doubled this year as their dominance in the AI chip segment made their products - and stocks - highly sought after.

The crossover underscores how index composition is determining national equity fortunes.

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With the two chip heavyweights accounting for 45% of the benchmark's weighting, Korea's market valuation has ridden a wave of semiconductor demand to shoot past major European markets like the United Kingdom and France. The Kospi gauge has added more than 70% so far this year, while Canada's resource and finance-heavy equity benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index has risen just 7%.

"Korea's market capitalization is likely to expand further, driven by the AI-led memory cycle, while Canada's is more constrained given its heavy concentration in energy and financials," said Ha SeokKeun, chief investment officer at Eugene Asset Management Co.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)