As the escalating Israel-Iran conflict entered a dramatic ceasefire, the domestic stock market has shown strength since the early morning of the 24th.
The KOSPI index recorded 3072.46 at 9:04 a.m. on this day, an increase of 57.99 points (1.92%) from the previous day. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index rose by 13.77 points (1.75%), reaching 798.56. A decrease in geopolitical crisis awareness in the Middle East pulled the stock indices up.
Among the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI market, the shares of Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Samsung Biologics, and LG Energy Solution began the regular session with upward momentum. NAVER and Hanwha Aerospace shares traded at lower prices than the previous day.
In the KOSDAQ market, major stocks such as Alteogen, Ecopro BM, Rainbow Robotics, and Ecopro are also performing well. However, HLB and PharmaResearch are on a downward trend.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 23rd (local time) that "Israel and Iran have agreed to a complete and comprehensive ceasefire for 12 hours." Trump referred to the current conflict as the '12-day war' and stated that he would celebrate its official end 24 hours later.
On the 21st, the U.S. airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities, including Fordow, shook the domestic stock market and global markets as well. International oil prices soared, and there was strong demand for safe assets, including gold. However, as Iran launched missiles at U.S. military bases in Qatar on the 23rd while giving prior notification to the U.S., the conflict did not escalate further.
Overnight, in the U.S. New York stock market, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed up 0.96% (57.33 points) from the previous day. Major stocks by market capitalization, including Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Apple, saw their prices rise further in after-hours trading. Amazon and Alphabet (Google), which had shown weakness in regular trading, also turned upward in after-hours trading on ceasefire news.
However, assessments suggest that there are still many external variables, including the U.S. tariff policy, to watch.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "From a supply and demand perspective, it will be a point of observation whether the profit realization stocks of foreign investors, which have net bought nearly 5 trillion won this month and driven the KOSPI index up, will be released." Furthermore, he stated, "In terms of sectors, attention must be paid to whether a rotation will occur from the shipping and energy sectors, which benefited from the Israel-Iran situation, to sectors suffering from war, such as airlines and domestic consumption."