Brazilian stocks climbed 21% in the second half of the year while South Korea's KOSPI fell 29%, the steepest drop among major markets over the same period.
An analysis of benchmark index performance in major economies showed the KOSPI slid 28.8% to 6038.17 on Oct. 13 from 8476.48 on June 30, the weakest return among major markets. It was the only benchmark to post a double-digit decline.
Over the same stretch, Brazil's Bovespa index rose 21.5% and the U.S. S&P 500 gained 4.1%. The Euro Stoxx 50 (-2.0%), Nikkei 225 (-3.1%) and Shanghai Composite (-7.2%) also fell, but their losses were about a quarter of the KOSPI's.
Hopes for Political Change, Commodity Rally Make Brazil Emerging Markets' Top Performer
Expectations of a political shift underpinned the Brazilian rally. In the first round of Brazil's presidential election on the 4th, right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro finished ahead of incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, feeding expectations of a change in government that fed into equities.
Rising commodity prices and improving foreign inflows have reinforced Brazil's standing as the strongest performer among emerging markets. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan have set year-end 2026 targets for the Ibovespa index at 185,000 to 200,000 points, projecting the start of a medium- to long-term upswing.
South Korea, by contrast, saw losses deepen as Chinese competition in semiconductors and foreign selling converged. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell sharply on consecutive sessions after reports that China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) plans to roll out next-generation DRAM, and foreign investors have unloaded trillions of won worth of shares this month alone.