Seoul: South Korean stocks on Wednesday surpassed the 7,000-point mark for the first time at the opening bell, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to pause operations to guide vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz as part of efforts to finalize a deal with Iran. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened at a fresh high of 7,093.01, up 156.02 points, or 2.25 percent.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this marks the first time the main index has surpassed the milestone. Supported by strong gains in stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI), the KOSPI has been on a record-breaking run for weeks. It reached 6,600 last Wednesday and shot up more than 5 percent to close over 6,900 on Monday.

Just before the bell rang, Trump stated in a social media post that he had paused the U.S. efforts to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz to finalize a settlement with Iran to end the war. Overnight, Wall Street also rallied, with the S and P 500 and Nasdaq notching record high closes.