The **Seoul stock market** opened notably higher on Monday, even as hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran dimmed significantly over the weekend.
The benchmark **Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI)** surged by 69.95 points, or 1.08 percent, reaching 6,545.58 within the first 15 minutes of Monday’s trading session.
Shortly after the **market’s opening**, the **KOSPI index** briefly touched a new intraday record high of 6,557.78 points.
Last Friday, **Wall Street stock indexes** ended mixed as **investors** remained hopeful that peace discussions between the U.S. and Iran would advance following the Iranian foreign minister’s second visit to Pakistan.
However, these expectations were tempered when U.S. President Donald Trump announced the cancellation of American negotiators’ planned trip to Pakistan over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is reportedly en route to Russia, as per Iranian state media, with a scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin expected on Monday.
Separately, over the weekend, an incident involving a gunman occurred near a security checkpoint at the White House correspondents’ dinner event, leading to the evacuation of President Trump.
Despite this series of unsettling events, **financial markets** remained unperturbed, according to Lee Kyoung-soo, an analyst at Hana Securities. **Investors** have reportedly shifted their primary focus towards impending policy decisions from **central banks** in major global economies and the highly anticipated **earnings releases** from prominent **big tech companies**, including industry giants like Microsoft, Apple, and Meta.
Furthermore, **investors** are keenly observing the forthcoming **earnings season** for **local South Korean companies**, Lee further noted.
Within the **Seoul stock market**, the majority of **large-cap shares** experienced gains.
**Market bellwether Samsung Electronics** saw its shares rise by 0.91 percent, while its key **chipmaking rival, SK Hynix**, posted a significant gain of 4.83 percent.
Leading **carmaker Hyundai Motor** climbed 0.78 percent, and **shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries** advanced 1.79 percent. Conversely, **defense giant Hanwha Aerospace** slightly declined by 0.68 percent.
