22 May 2026 1 minute read

Taiwan and South Korea are outpacing some of Europe’s largest stock markets, driven by demand for AI technology.

Figure 1: South Korea and Taiwan outpace some of Europe's largest equity markets (market capitalisation, USD trillion)

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Source: Bloomberg, Aviva Investors. Data as of 13 May 2026.

 

South-Korean equity market capitalisation has risen by over 45 per cent year-to-date, to $4.67 trillion. It surpassed the UK in April and became the world’s seventh-largest equity market in May, just behind Taiwan, ranking above some of Europe’s largest stock markets.

Interestingly, this has been driven by a narrow group of stocks, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together accounting for over 40 per cent of the index.

South Korean and Taiwanese equity markets have been supported by strong performance from leading AI-linked technology companies. While this continues a longer-term trend of relative growth, it highlights the concentrated nature of the markets’ recent strength.

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