Lead

South Korean stocks closed at a new historic high on Tuesday, fully erasing losses incurred since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict, as investors bet on progress in peace talks and tech heavyweights rallied. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 169.38 points, or 2.72 percent, to close at a record 6,388.47, according to Yonhap News Agency. The Korean won also rose against the U.S. dollar.

Coverage Comparison

All four reports from Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean wire service, focused on the same market rally, with consistent figures for the KOSPI's gain and the won's movement. The reports differed in the level of detail: one added individual stock prices and bond yields, another included trade volume and market breadth, and a third, published two days later, covered a subsequent session where the index rose further to 6,475.81. The later report also noted that the U.S. had extended its ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, a development not mentioned in the Tuesday reports, which said the deadline was set to expire and President Donald Trump had indicated it would not be extended.

Key Claims

  • The KOSPI closed up 169.38 points, or 2.72 percent, at 6,388.47 on Tuesday, surpassing the previous high of 6,307.27 set on Feb. 26, according to Yonhap.
  • Trade volume was heavy at 784.2 million shares worth 30.5 trillion won (US$20.8 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 455 to 408, as reported by Yonhap.
  • Foreign investors net purchased more than 1.3 trillion won worth of local stocks, while retail investors net sold 1.9 trillion won, per Yonhap's report. Institutional investors were net sellers of 737.7 billion won in one version, but another version said they were net buyers of the same amount—a discrepancy not reconciled in the available extracts.
  • The U.S. and Iran were still sparring over a second round of peace talks as the deadline for their two-week ceasefire approached, with President Trump saying the deadline would likely not be extended, according to Yonhap.
  • In the Thursday session, the KOSPI rose 57.88 points, or 0.9 percent, to a record 6,475.81, approaching the 6,500 level, as reported by Yonhap. The index set new record highs for three consecutive sessions.
  • South Korea's real GDP grew 1.7 percent in the first quarter, the fastest quarterly expansion in 5 1/2 years, according to Yonhap's Thursday report.
  • Bond prices closed higher on Tuesday, with the yield on three-year Treasurys falling 1.8 basis points to 3.33 percent, and the five-year government bond yield down 2.7 basis points to 3.541 percent, per Yonhap.

Perspectives

Analysts attributed the rally to strong corporate earnings and a growing appetite for risky assets. Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, told Yonhap that the KOSPI's advance was "in part due to the unwavering corporate earnings momentum," and noted a rerating driven by offshore investors snapping up heavyweight equities. The market's optimism was also tied to geopolitical developments: on Tuesday, expectations were high that Iran might come to the table for negotiations, while by Thursday, the U.S. had extended its ceasefire indefinitely, further boosting sentiment. However, tensions remained in the Strait of Hormuz, with a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports continuing, as noted in the Thursday report. Peter Tuchman, a veteran trader at the New York Stock Exchange, told Yonhap that the market impact of the conflict had already run its course, with oil prices the only remaining variable.