Seoul stocks opened higher Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at a possible end to the monthlong war with Iran. The benchmark KOSPI rose 1.15 percent to 5,541.81 in early trading. Global markets rallied similarly on de-escalation hopes.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Wednesday Reuters interview that the United States would be "out of Iran pretty quickly" and could return for "spot hits" if necessary. In a Truth Social post, he claimed Iran's "new regime president" had asked for a ceasefire, though Iran's foreign ministry dismissed it as "false and baseless." The White House said Trump would deliver a public address on the Iran war at 10 a.m. Seoul time Thursday.
The conflict began in late February after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, driving up global oil prices amid supply disruptions and stoking inflation fears. Brent crude sat at $101.83 per barrel, down from peaks but up from $70 pre-war. U.S. gasoline averaged $4.06 per gallon, according to AAA.
Wall Street saw the Dow up 357 points or 0.8 percent, S&P 500 up 0.8 percent, and Nasdaq up 1.2 percent as of mid-morning Eastern time. In Asia, South Korea's KOSPI followed an 8.44 percent surge the prior day, with Samsung Electronics up 0.47 percent, SK hynix 0.67 percent, and Hanwha Aerospace 8.4 percent. The won traded at 1,511.9 against the dollar, down 10.6 won.
Thomas Mathews, head of markets at Capital Economics Asia Pacific, said in a note, "De-escalation hopes have given markets a lift, but... markets have further to recover if sentiment improves." Iran hit an oil tanker off Qatar and Kuwait's airport Wednesday while holding the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing airstrikes on Tehran.
