Korean IT export earnings shot up again in April, taking the stock market to record highs as well and continuing the region-wide trend we've seen in neighboring economies.

In contrast to, say, Taiwan, China and Vietnam, however, the Korean boom is mostly about rocketing prices for memory chips and other components, with only a more limited impact on industrial output. So far the export surge has also not fed through to local activity, where most domestic indicators are still flat.

As a result, we're a bit cautious on how far local equity valuations have run. Local listed firms have enjoyed a tremendous rerating - but in the absence of domestic growth it's unclear how far this can go.