Kospi Jumps 5% Above 8,500 on US-Iran Peace Deal; Samsung, SK Hynix Reclaim Key Levels

South Korea’s Kospi jumped more than 5% in early trading on June 15, climbing above 8,500 after news that the US and Iran had reached an agreement to end the war boosted risk appetite.

As of 9:12 a.m., the benchmark index was up 405.89 points, or 5.0%, at 8,529.51. A buy-side sidecar was triggered at about 9:06 a.m. after a surge in Kospi 200 futures temporarily halted program buy orders.

On the main board, institutions were net buyers of 471.8 billion won. Retail investors and foreign investors were net sellers of 292.1 billion won and 176.4 billion won, respectively.

The rally followed easing uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X that, after intensive talks, the United States and Iran had reached a peace agreement. He added that both sides had declared an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose more than 6% and 7%, respectively, during the session, reclaiming the 340,000 won and 230,000 won levels. Other top-10 Kospi stocks by market capitalization also advanced, including SK Square, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung C&T, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Kia.

The Kosdaq also rose, gaining 17.42 points, or 1.69%, to 1,046.47 at the same time. On the Kosdaq, retail investors and institutions were net buyers of 274.1 billion won and 13.3 billion won, while foreign investors were net sellers of 271.1 billion won.

Among the top 10 Kosdaq stocks by market capitalization, Alteogen, Ecopro BM, Ecopro, Rainbow Robotics, Jusung Engineering, Kolon TissueGene and HLB advanced, while Wonik IPS, Leeno Industrial and EO Technics fell.

In Seoul’s foreign-exchange market, the won opened at 1,511.4 per dollar, down 8.4 won from the previous daytime session close.

Ko Jung-sam, Hankyung.com reporter jsk@hankyung.com