South Korean equities saw gains on Monday, driven by investor anticipation for Samsung Electronics’ crucial first-quarter earnings guidance expected later this week. This positive sentiment emerged even as the market absorbed renewed geopolitical concerns surrounding Washington’s warnings to Iran. Meanwhile, the Korean won experienced a decline against the strengthening US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced significantly, rising 73.03 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 5,450.33.
Market activity saw a moderate trading volume of 1.08 billion shares, amounting to a total value of 19.8 trillion won (approximately $13.1 billion). Despite the overall index gain, declining issues slightly outnumbered advancers, with 512 losers against 353 gainers.
Foreign investors registered net selling of 159.7 billion won, while individual investors offloaded a substantial net 1 trillion won. This selling pressure was counteracted by robust net buying from institutional investors, who acquired 837.1 billion won.
The geopolitical backdrop included weekend warnings from US President Donald Trump, who threatened military action against Iran, targeting bridges and power plants, should Tehran fail to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening.
Despite these geopolitical concerns, investors largely maintained a positive outlook on the technology sector, particularly ahead of Samsung Electronics’ highly anticipated preliminary first-quarter earnings report, scheduled for release on Tuesday.
Analysts and market watchers are keenly anticipating Samsung’s operating profit to potentially exceed the significant 40 trillion-won threshold for the very first time, signaling a strong performance.
“Investor optimism regarding the performance of listed companies remains robust,” commented Lee Kyoung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities. He highlighted that strong expectations for Samsung Electronics’ results had been a key factor in boosting the broader index.
Lee further explained that the market exhibited a “mixed sentiment, balancing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East with expectations for upcoming earnings reports, which is driving differentiation across various sectors.”
Among leading technology firms, Samsung Electronics, the dominant tech giant, surged 3.71 percent to 193,100 won. Semiconductor peer SK Hynix also saw gains, climbing 1.14 percent to reach 886,000 won.
Notably, Poongsan, a prominent South Korean producer of copper alloys, experienced a significant surge of 12.91 percent, closing at 109,300 won. This sharp rise followed reports indicating that Hanwha Aerospace is pursuing an acquisition of Poongsan’s lucrative ammunition business.
Performance within the automotive sector was mixed; Hyundai Motor shares dipped 0.42 percent to 469,000 won, while its affiliate, Kia, posted a gain of 0.93 percent, reaching 151,600 won.
Leading battery manufacturers also performed strongly, with LG Energy Solution advancing 3.51 percent to 412,500 won, and Samsung SDI increasing by 3.42 percent to close at 453,500 won, reflecting continued optimism in the EV battery market.
