In early trading on the 5th, the KOSPI index surged more than 12%, with Hyundai Motor and Kia shares, which had fallen sharply over the past two sessions, turning strong.
As of 10:09 a.m. that day, Hyundai Motor was trading at 569,000 won, up 68,000 won (13.57%) from the previous session. Kia was up 8.49% at 170,000 won at the same time.
Earlier, after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran heightened market uncertainty, the KOSPI index plunged more than 18% on the 3rd–4th. During this period, among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, Hyundai Motor fell 25.67%, the steepest decline. Kia also dropped 23.75%.
However, as U.S. stocks closed higher overnight on expectations that Middle East tensions would ease, the domestic market is rebounding quickly across the board.
It also helped that Hyundai Motor and Kia set new monthly sales records again last month, following January this year.
Lee Jae-il, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "Kia sold 66,000 units in February, a 4.3% growth rate, surpassing Hyundai Motor's sales of 65,600 units excluding Genesis."
He added, "The surge in gasoline prices due to the Iran situation is negative for demand, but demand for high-margin hybrid (HEV) vehicles could increase, which is favorable for market share expansion."