(LEAD) stocks-open
(LEAD) Seoul shares top 7,000 at opening bell for 1st time on eased Mideast tensions
(ATTN: UPDATES with latest figures, info in paras 2-3; ADDS more info from para 8; CHANGES photo)
SEOUL, May 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks on Wednesday topped the 7,000-point mark for the first time at the opening bell, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to pause operations to guide vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz as part of efforts to finalize a deal with Iran.
After opening at a fresh record high of 7,093.01, or 2.25 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 343.09 points, or 4.95 percent, to 7,280.08 as of 9:15 a.m.
With the surge, the bourse operator issued a buy-side sidecar at 9:06 a.m. to halt program-driven buy orders in KOSPI futures for five minutes.
Officials celebrate the Korea Composite Stock Price Index topping the 7,000-point mark at the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on May 6, 2026. (Yonhap)
Supported by strong gains in stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI), the KOSPI has been on a record-breaking run for weeks.
It reached 6,600 last Wednesday and shot up more than 5 percent to close over 6,900 on Monday.
Just before the bell rang, Trump said in a social media post that he had paused the U.S. efforts to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz to finalize a settlement with Iran to end the war.
Overnight, Wall Street also rallied, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching record high closes.
In Seoul, market heavyweights led the rally.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 9.89 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix vaulted 9.33 percent.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 2.97 percent, and LG Electronics rose 7.47 percent.
Leading banking groups KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group increased 1.39 and 0.92 percent, respectively.
The Korean won was trading at 1,462.75 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 0.15 won from the previous session.
댓글
0