Despite uncertainty over cease-fire talks between the United States and Iran, Samsung Electronics' "earnings surprise" lifted investor sentiment, sending Korea's stock market higher at the open on the 7th.
As of 9:02 a.m., the KOSPI was up 81.93 points (1.5%) from the previous trading day at 5532.26. Individuals were net buyers of 233.2 billion won, pushing the index higher. Foreign investors and institutions showed net selling of 65.9 billion won and 171.5 billion won, respectively.
Earlier, the United States set 8 p.m. on the 7th Eastern time (9 a.m. on the 8th Korea time) as a "final ultimatum" deadline and is negotiating an end to the war. The plan calls for a first stage 45-day cease-fire, followed by a second stage to end the war. U.S. President Donald Trump said it was "not sufficient but very significant," warning that if no agreement is reached by the deadline for talks, the United States would "completely destroy all bridges and power plants within four hours."
However, some foreign media reported that Iran is rejecting the temporary cease-fire proposal presented by the United States and Israel, demanding a permanent end to the war. As a result, some analysts said the chances of a partial agreement within the deadline are low.
Samsung Electronics' first-quarter results are leading the market. Samsung Electronics announced in a preliminary first-quarter earnings release that it posted revenue of 133 trillion won and operating profit of 57.2 trillion won. That was an increase of 68.06% in revenue and 755.01% in operating profit from a year earlier. It is the first time a domestic corporations has posted more than 50 trillion won in operating profit in a single quarter.
Samsung Electronics is up 3%, eyeing "200,000 won Samsung." Samsung Electronics rose 5% in premarket trading. SK hynix also gained 2%, reclaiming "900,000 won hynix."
At the same time, the KOSDAQ was up 10.48 points (1%) from the previous trading day at 1057.85. On the KOSDAQ, individuals alone were net buyers of 29.1 billion won.
Sam Chun Dang Pharm withdrew its 250 billion won block deal (bulk transaction) plan at a press conference the previous day, but with market uncertainty persisting, the stock is plunging 16%.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks closed higher overnight on news of cease-fire talks between the United States and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, and the Nasdaq advanced 0.5%.