Kospi Closes Above 8,000 for First Time on Iran Truce Hopes; SK Hynix Tops 2 Million Won

South Korea’s Kospi closed above 8,000 for the first time on record as hopes for an end to the conflict between the US and Iran lifted investor sentiment. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., the country’s two chipmaking heavyweights, also topped 300,000 won and 2 million won, respectively, during the session.

On May 26, the Kospi rose 199.80 points, or 2.55%, to 8,047.51. The index opened 2.84% higher and extended gains through the session, briefly moving above 8,100.

The rally followed gains in US technology shares on expectations of a US-Iran truce. Wall Street was closed on May 26 for Memorial Day, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 2% on May 22, the last trading day of the previous week.

Earlier, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had discussed a “memorandum of understanding related to peace” to end the conflict with Iran with leaders of Arab states near Iran. He added that an agreement had been “largely negotiated,” a sign that appeared to calm markets.

In another Truth Social post the next day, Trump said negotiations with Iran were proceeding in an “orderly and constructive manner.”

In the main bourse, institutional investors were net buyers of 910 billion won worth of shares. Individuals and foreign investors were net sellers of 616 billion won and 184 billion won, respectively.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both hit record highs during the session. Samsung Electronics closed at 299,000 won, up 6,500 won, or 2.22%, from the previous session. It climbed as high as 302,500 won intraday, topping 300,000 won. SK Hynix ended at 2.052 million won, up 111,000 won, or 5.72%. It was the first time the stock had traded above 2 million won in regular hours.

Other gainers included Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., which surged 17.31%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., up 9.56%, Hyundai Motor Co., up 5.19%, Doosan Enerbility Co., up 0.90%, and LG Energy Solution Ltd., up 0.25%. Samsung Life Insurance Co. fell 4.53%, Samsung C&T Corp. lost 2.26%, and SK Square Co. slipped 0.34%.

The Kosdaq rose 11.39 points, or 0.98%, to 1,172.52. On the secondary exchange, individual investors were net buyers of 22.4 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 14.9 billion won and 3.4 billion won, respectively.

In Seoul’s foreign-exchange market, the won strengthened 12.9 won to close at 1,504.3 won per dollar.

Lee Su, Hankyung.com reporter 2su@hankyung.com