Daijiworld Media Network - Seoul

Seoul, Apr 16: South Korean equities climbed sharply on Thursday morning, buoyed by optimism surrounding a possible second round of peace talks between the United States and Iran.

The benchmark KOSPI rose 132.06 points, or 2.17 per cent, to reach 6,223.45 as of 11:20 a.m. local time, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Investor sentiment improved after Donald Trump stated in a media interview that the ongoing conflict involving Iran was “very close to over.” The White House also indicated that further diplomatic talks were likely, with Islamabad being considered as the venue for the next round.

Supporting diplomatic efforts, a Pakistani delegation has already reached Tehran to help facilitate renewed negotiations, even as a US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place following unsuccessful earlier talks.

Market gains were led by strong performances in technology and automobile stocks. Samsung Electronics advanced 3.08 per cent, while SK hynix rose 1.85 per cent.

Automakers also posted notable gains, with Hyundai Motor surging 6.1 per cent and Kia climbing 4.75 per cent.

In the shipbuilding sector, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean rose 4.21 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively.

Defence stocks showed mixed performance, as Hanwha Aerospace edged up 0.73 per cent, while LIG D&A declined 1.79 per cent.

The local currency was trading at 1,473.45 won against the US dollar, marking a slight gain from the previous session.

Meanwhile, separate data from the Financial Supervisory Service revealed that foreign investors were heavy net sellers in March amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Offshore investors sold a net 43.51 trillion won (approximately $29.5 billion) worth of local equities, significantly higher than the previous month’s outflows.

Despite the sell-off, foreign holdings still accounted for 30.7 per cent of the total market capitalisation, with investors from United Kingdom and the United States leading the outflows.