South Korean stocks experienced a significant surge, closing over 1 percent higher on Wednesday, fueled by growing optimism surrounding a potential resolution to the US-Iran conflict. However, the Korean won weakened against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 88.29 points, a 1.59 percent increase, to reach 5,642.21. The index reached an intraday high of 5,740.97 during the trading session.
Trading volume was moderate, with 756.4 million shares changing hands, valued at 24.4 trillion won ($16.3 billion). Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 716 to 165.
Institutional investors demonstrated a strong buying trend, accumulating a net 2.3 trillion won in equities. In contrast, retail and foreign investors collectively sold off a net 2.6 trillion won worth of shares.
Recent developments included US President Donald Trump’s claims of productive discussions with Iran regarding the cessation of the month-long conflict. Trump also suggested that Iran had offered a “significant prize” related to gas and oil.
However, Iranian sources have refuted claims of any contact with the United States, according to international media reports.
“Lingering uncertainties surrounding the Middle East situation, however, limited the extent of the gains in the local stock market,” noted Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst from Daishin Securities.
Across the board in Seoul, the majority of large-cap stocks traded positively.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw a slight decrease of 0.37 percent, trading at 189,000 won, while its competitor in the chip manufacturing sector, SK hynix, gained 0.91 percent, reaching 995,000 won.
Defense stocks showed robust performance, with Hanwha Aerospace adding 4.87 percent to reach 1,400,000 won and Hyundai Rotem climbing 7.2 percent to 190,700 won. LIG Nex1 experienced a substantial jump of 14.51 percent, trading at 734,000 won, following the announcement of a collaboration with US data company Palantir to jointly develop defense systems.
Local brokerage firm Mirae Asset Securities surged by 10.15 percent to 67,300 won, driven by reports that SpaceX is planning to file for a stock listing as early as this week. Mirae Asset Securities is among the investors in the space exploration company founded by Tesla’s Elon Musk.
