As a message for an end to the war emerged from Iran following the United States, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes surged across the board on Apr. 1, the first trading day of April. Hopes that the Iran war will wrap up stoked investor sentiment. A buy-sidecar (a temporary halt on the effectiveness of program-trading quotes) was triggered during trading in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. In particular, large-cap semiconductor stocks, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 by market capitalization, soared more than 10%, leading the index gains.
Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump said the timing for ending military operations against Iran is within two to three weeks. Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian also said there is a willingness to end the conflict, conditional on meeting essentials such as preventing a recurrence of aggression.
As expectations for an end to the war grew, stocks skyrocketed and the won rebounded. The won-dollar exchange rate, which had topped the 1,530-won level the previous day, fell to the low 1,500-won range, showing signs of calming.
The KOSPI index rose 426.24 points, or 8.44%, from the previous trading day to 5,478.70. In early trading, funds poured into index futures, triggering a buy-sidecar, and in the afternoon the index even spiked to 5,512.33.
Driving the index higher was institutional flow led by exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing. In the main board, financial investment institutions were net buyers of 3.703 trillion won. Individuals and foreign investors were net sellers of 4.1302 trillion won and 670.8 billion won, respectively.
Of the issues on the main board, 840 closed higher, and three stocks, including LIG Nex1 and Inscobee, hit the upper limit (the top of the daily price band). Only 10 stocks were unchanged and 71 fell.
Gains were especially strong among large-cap stocks by market capitalization. Samsung Electronics rose 13.40% and SK hynix climbed 10.66%, while Hyundai Motor (9.54%), SK Square (7.40%), Doosan Enerbility (8.50%), Kia (6.96%), Hanwha Aerospace (6.73%), Samsung Biologics (4.52%) and LG Energy Solution (3.17%) were also strong.
The KOSDAQ index finished at 1,116.18, up 63.79 points, or 6.06%, from the previous trading day. On KOSDAQ, eight stocks hit the upper limit, 1,553 rose, and only 199 were unchanged or lower in total.
In the KOSDAQ market, institutions and foreigners were net buyers of 460.5 billion won and 445.1 billion won, respectively. Only individuals were net sellers, totaling 902.2 billion won.
Most top KOSDAQ market-cap stocks also flashed red. LEENO Industrial jumped more than 10%, while ABL Bio (8.50%), Rainbow Robotics (7.68%), LigaChem Biosciences (7.03%), EcoPro (6.88%), Alteogen (5.42%), EcoPro BM (5.10%), Peptron (4.94%) and Kolon TissueGene (1.69%) rose.
By contrast, Sam Chun Dang Pharm plunged more than 10%, dropping from No. 1 to No. 4 in KOSDAQ market cap in a single day. The fallout was largely from the Mar. 30 announcement that its generic-drug license deal for "Wegovy" and "Rybelsus" with its U.S. partner fell short of market expectations.
Kang Jin-hyeok, an analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "As hopes grow for an early end to the war between the United States and Iran, risk-on sentiment has expanded across the stock market," adding, "On KOSDAQ, large caps were strong as foreigners turned net buyers."