As the U.S.-Iran war moved toward an end, Korea's stock market surged. After U.S. President Donald Trump noted that the signing of a peace agreement to end the war with Iran was imminent, the KOSPI index, which opened up more than 6%, recovered to the 8,400 level during the session.
The KOSPI index closed the day at 8,123.62, up 359.62 points (4.63%). After a sharp open up 6.44% at 8,263.85, the KOSPI at one point jumped more than 8% during the session, rising to the 8,400 level.
A "cease-fire tailwind" from the United States lifted Korea's stock market. U.S. President Donald Trump, who had said he would seize and bomb Kharg Island, the core of Iran's oil infrastructure, reversed course within hours.
Trump said, "We have made a great deal regarding the war with Iran," adding, "Only the final document-coordination stage remains." He also said the final signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the war was imminent. As geopolitical jitters in the Middle East eased, the market, which had swung up and down all week, turned higher. As the index spiked early in the session, a "buy sidecar" was triggered, temporarily halting program buy quotes.
Foreign investors also returned to the main bourse for the first time in a while. On this day, foreigners, turning net buyers for the first time in 25 sessions, bought more than 2.7 trillion won. Institutions were also net buyers of more than 3 trillion won. Individuals, by contrast, were net sellers of more than 5.5 trillion won.
Semiconductor blue chips led the main bourse again. On news that Samsung Electronics would take on part of the production of Google's next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) chips made in-house, Samsung Electronics finished up more than 7%.
SK hynix pared gains intraday to finish up in the 2% range, but SK Square rose more than 10%.
However, some profit-taking emerged in department store and cosmetics names that had served as defensives in the correction. Hyundai Department Store fell 5%, Shinsegae declined in the 2% range, and APR also closed down 4%.
The KOSDAQ index also rose for the first time in a while, breaking back above 1,000 points. The KOSPI index closed at 1,029.05, up 3.22% (32.12 points) from the previous day.
Kang Jin-hyeok, a senior researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "As concentration in large caps eased discount-rate pressures, major sectors strengthened and returned to 1,000 points."