On expectations for an early end to the U.S.-Iran war, defense stocks were falling in early trading on the 20th.

With hopes for an end to the Middle East war, the KOSPI closes higher as its closing price is displayed on the dealing room board at Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 10th. /Courtesy of News1

As of 9:41 a.m. that day, Hanwha Aerospace was trading at 1,323,000 won on the Korea Exchange, down 3.78% (52,000 won) from the previous session.

LIG Nex1 was down 2.92%, Hanwha Systems 2.91%, Hyundai Rotem 2.42%, and Poongsan 0.70%.

Recently, the possibility of a cease-fire has been raised. U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have made back-to-back remarks suggesting the possibility of an end to the war.

President Trump said that during a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, he told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu not to carry out additional attacks on Iran's oil and gas facilities.

On the 19th (local time), Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared an overwhelming victory in the war with Iran, claiming that Iran had reached a state where it could no longer enrich nuclear fuel or produce missiles.

Netanyahu said, "Iran can no longer enrich uranium and has also lost the ability to manufacture ballistic missiles," and predicted, "The Iran war could end sooner than people think."

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