Seoul: South Korean stocks experienced a significant upswing Tuesday morning, rebounding after a sharp decline on the previous day. This market recovery follows U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks suggesting that the conflict with Iran is nearing its conclusion. The Korean won also showed strength, appreciating against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 248.63 points, or 4.73 percent, reaching 5,500.5 by 9:15 a.m. The Korea Exchange (KRX) suspended program trading of the KOSPI for five minutes at 9:06 a.m. after a sidecar was triggered. This mechanism is activated when the KOSPI 200 Futures index moves 5 percent or more for at least one minute.
In the U.S. markets overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S and P 500 saw increases of 1.38 percent and 0.83 percent, respectively. The KOSPI had previously fallen 5.96 percent on Monday.
During an interview with CBS News, President Trump mentioned that the U.S.-Iran conflict was "very complete," causing a significant drop in global crude prices. This statement came after the KRX activated a circuit breaker on the main bourse in the previous session, halting trading for 20 minutes due to extreme market volatility.
This recent activation marked the first time since March 2020 that a circuit breaker was used twice in one month, with the previous occurrence happening last Wednesday. On that day, the KOSPI plunged 12.06 percent, marking the steepest one-day decline since September 12, 2001.
In individual stock performances, technology giant Samsung Electronics surged 7.61 percent, and SK hynix increased by 8.85 percent. LG Energy Solution, a leading battery maker, rose by 2.36 percent, while Samsung SDI saw a 3.73 percent increase. The automotive sector also benefitted, with Hyundai Motor and Kia rising by 4.14 percent and 3.19 percent, respectively. In the airline industry, Korean Air soared 5.36 percent, and Asiana Airlines gained 3.75 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,471.3 against the U.S. dollar, marking an increase of 24.2 won from the previous session.