Nuclear power stocks were strong early on the 4th. Investor sentiment was seen as being boosted by news that the two countries agreed to expand nuclear cooperation at the South Korea-U.S. foreign ministers' meeting.
As of 9:42 a.m. that day, in the KOSPI market, KEPID was trading at 16,760 won, up 3,400 won (25.45%) from the previous trading day. KEPCO E&C (10.07%), Doosan Enerbility (3.84%), and Korea Electric Power Corporation (6.82%) were also strong.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of State said Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the direction of the South Korea-U.S. alliance at a meeting on the 3rd (local time). In particular, the department said the two ministers "agreed to work closely together on expanding Korea's investment to rebuild key U.S. industries, including civil nuclear power, nuclear-powered submarines, and shipbuilding."
Lee Min-jae, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, "Despite policy support from the Trump administration, U.S. utility corporations remain reluctant to build large nuclear power plants," adding, "Among partners that the United States can approve to build nuclear power generation domestically, there is no country that can compete with Korea, so the likelihood of Korea participating in the U.S. nuclear power generation market will increase."