Airline stocks were all strong in early trading on the 24th. As concerns eased over the U.S. strike on Iran overnight and international oil prices plunged about 11%, investor sentiment appeared to improve.
As of 10 a.m. that day on the Korea Exchange, T'way Air was trading at 1,136 won, up 30 won (2.71%) from the previous session. At the same time, Asiana Airlines was also trading at 7,020 won, up 80 won (1.15%).
Korean Air Lines (1.23%), Jin Air (1.13%) and Jeju Air (0.99%) were also rising.
Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social, a social media platform, that "over the past two days, the United States and Iran have had very useful and productive talks to completely and comprehensively resolve hostilities in the Middle East."
He added, "Based on in-depth, detailed and constructive talks that will continue throughout this week, I have directed the War Department to delay all military attacks on Iran's power plants and energy facilities for five days." Earlier, Trump had warned that if Iran did not open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, he would attack power plants.
As a result, expectations for an early end to the war grew and international oil prices fell. Typically, oil price trends translate directly into logistics costs for airlines. The latest oil price decline appears to have acted as a boon for airline stocks.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, fell 10.92% from the previous session to $99.94 per barrel the day before, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 10.28% to $88.13 per barrel.