Everyone watches the S&P 500… but South Korea just crushed global markets (+78% ). Why? 2025 was a

[human1234]

Everyone watches the S&P 500… but South Korea just crushed global markets (+78% ). Why?

2025 was a green year for most countries, with solid gains everywhere. But amid the bull run, returns varied wildly and **South Korea crushed it with +77.8%**. Just wow! But why?

Breaking it down:

* **Semiconductor mega-rebound (the big driver):** Korea's market is all about semis. Samsung (+155%) and SK Hynix (+275%) dominate the KOSPI. 2025 brought a huge DRAM/NAND cycle recovery, fueled by AI, data centers, GPUs, cloud, and edge computing. SK Hynix nailed it as Nvidia's key HBM supplier!
* **South Korea underperformed US/Europe 2021-2024:** Set up for massive catch-up. Investors chased value, and Korea delivered big time.
* **Rotation to ex-US markets:** Korea checks every box:tech, industrial, export-focused, liquid. Perfect for ditching overpriced US stocks.
* **Weak won + export boost:** KRW stayed soft, supercharging export-heavy firms with higher margins, earnings beats, and stock re-ratings.
* **Concentrated market amps up % gains:** Fewer mega-caps, but giants like these explode the overall cap.

Quick shoutout to Spain's +64.5% killer run, thanks to:

* Booming banks (IBEX heavyweight, low rates juicing lending)
* \~3% GDP surge (beating Euro peers on jobs/investment)
* Tourism explosion (post-COVID come back)
* Infrastructure boom (EU funds for housing/projects)
* Credit upgrades (Moody's/Fitch/S&P drawing investors)
* Edge in cheap energy/resilient exports

You invested in Korean stocks last year. How about now? What stocks (Samsung, SK Hynix)?  
And what country are you betting on for 2026 to pull off something similar?

|Rank|Country / Region|Market Capitalization Growth|
|:-|:-|:-|

|1|South Korea|77.8%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|2|Spain|64.5%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|3|South Africa|50.5%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|4|Italy|42.0%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|5|Mexico|41.0%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|6|Brazil|36.1%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|7|Hong Kong|35.5%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|8|Canada|35.3%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|9|China|33.7%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|10|Taiwan|32.5%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|11|**European Union**|**31.3%**|
|:-|:-|:-|

|12|Singapore|30.1%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|13|Switzerland|29.4%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|14|Netherlands|29.1%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|15|Sweden|29.0%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|16|Germany|28.6%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|17|United Kingdom|24.5%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|18|France|22.8%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|19|**World**|**20.5%**|
|:-|:-|:-|

|20|Japan|19.9%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|21|Australia|17.7%|
|:-|:-|:-|

|22|**United States**|**15.3%**|
|:-|:-|:-|

|23|India|2.6%|
|:-|:-|:-|

Market capitalization growth from December 2024 to December 2025

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/s/7QMgPjNkRt

[human1234]