Seoul stocks open at new high amid U.S. ceasefire extension with Iran
South Korean stocks opened at a record high Thursday, with the benchmark index approaching the 6,500-point level, driven by large-cap tech gains and the United States' indefinite extension of its ceasefire in the conflict with Iran, Yonhap reports.
After opening 1.1 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 62.23 points, or 0.97 percent, to 6,480.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The index surpassed its previous all-time high for the first time in about two months Monday and went on to set new record highs for three consecutive trading sessions through Thursday.
The gains came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a decision to extend a two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, following stalled peace talks aimed at ending the conflict.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed higher, supported by strong corporate earnings. The S&P 500 rose 1.05 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.64 percent, with both indices finishing at record closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.69 percent.
In Seoul, big-cap tech shares led the upturn in the market.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 3.22 percent, while chip giant SK hynix advanced 1.47 percent after reporting record revenue and profits for the first quarter, driven by strong demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) and other memory segments.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.18 percent, and its sister affiliate Kia gained 0.19 percent.
Artificial intelligence investment firm SK Square climbed 1.67 percent, and nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility jumped 5 percent.
But leading battery maker LG Energy Solution sank 4.13 percent, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace dipped 0.71 percent.
Bio giant Samsung Biologics lost 0.38 percent, while Celltrion traded unchanged.
Leading financial firm KB Financial fell 1.46 percent, and major steelmaker POSCO went down 0.96 percent.
Shipbuilders opened lower. Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy dropped 3.43 percent, while its rival Hanwha Ocean decreased 1.04 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,480.95 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 4.95 won from the previous session, amid surging global oil prices.
