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Kospi rebounds nearly 10 percent after worst-ever drop; won rises

Published: 05 Mar. 2026, 18:51

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 5,583.90 on March 5, up 490.36 points, or 9.63 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares sharply rebounded on Thursday from the previous session's sharpest decline ever, soaring almost 10 percent, amid signs of an easing oil price surge sparked by the ongoing Iran conflict. The local currency rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi added 490.36 points, or 9.63 percent, to close at 5,583.9, snapping the three-session losing streak.

It marked the largest daily gain in terms of points in Kospi history, renewing the previous record of 338.41 points set on Feb. 3.

Also, the 9.63 percent rise is the second steepest since Oct. 30, 2008, when the index rose 11.95 percent in the midst of the global financial crisis.

The country's main bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX), issued a buy-side sidecar around opening, suspending the selling of Kospi futures for five minutes.

Trade volume was heavy at 1.6 billion shares worth 44.8 trillion won ($30.5 billion), with gainers sharply beating decliners 898 to 21.

Individual investors drove the steep rally, scooping up a net 1.79 trillion won, while foreigners and institutions sold a net 144.6 billion won and 1.7 trillion won, respectively.

"The Kospi experienced the sharpest decline in history and dropped near the 5,000-point line the previous day," Roh Dong-gil, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said. "Bargain hunters returned to the market to pull off a turnaround."

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.29 percent on calmed oil price hikes.

In Seoul, market heavyweights led the rally.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 11.27 percent to 191,600 won, and chip giant SK hynix soared 10.84 percent to 941,000 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor escalated 9.38 percent to 548,000 won, and its sister Kia jumped 6.19 percent to 166,400 won.

Defense shares were among the biggest winners as industry leader Hanwha Aerospace vaulted 4.38 percent to 1.38 million won, and LIG Nex1 shot up 23.26 percent to 763,000 won.

Shinhan Financial Group rose 4.62 percent to 92,900 won, and internet giant Naver advanced 5.77 percent to 220,000 won.

Samsung Biologics, a leading pharmaceutical firm, rose 8.64 percent to 1.65 million won, and entertainment giant CJ ENM increased 5.91 percent to 64,500 won.

The won strengthened 8.1 won from the previous session to trade at 1,468.1 against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 3.4 basis points to 3.19 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 3.5 basis points to 3.44 percent.

Yonhap