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Kospi closes up 0.31% on hopes Iran war will end sooner than expected

Published: 20 Mar. 2026, 17:47

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 5,781.20 points on March 20, up 17.98 points, or 0.31 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares closed higher Friday amid hopes that the Iran war, weighing heavily on global financial markets, may end sooner than expected.

The Kospi added 17.98 points, or 0.31 percent, to finish at 5,781.2.

The Kospi had kicked off nearly 1 percent higher but reduced earlier gains as foreigners dumped a net 2.6 trillion won ($1.7 billion). Retail investors and institutions purchased local shares worth 2.2 trillion won and 414.8 billion won, respectively.

Trade volume was heavy at 1.46 billion shares worth 31 trillion won, with winners outnumbering losers 742 to 158.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.44 percent lower, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.28 percent, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.27 percent. They pared most of their earlier losses after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war against Iran may end a lot faster than people think and that U.S. President Donald Trump has requested no further attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure.

Earlier this week, Israel attacked the South Pars gas field, Iran's largest, and Iran hit back with a strike on a major liquefied natural gas site in Qatar.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks that Washington may lift its sanctions on Iranian oil at sea also boosted the market sentiment.

"Although geopolitical risks surrounding the Middle East have yet to be resolved, optimism over energy supply stabilization spread among investors as they digested the latest remarks by U.S. and Israeli officials," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said.

"With easing oil prices, the Korean stock market saw a restoration in risk appetite," he added.

In Seoul, top-cap Samsung Electronics slipped 0.55 percent to 199,400 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix went down 0.59 percent to 1 million won.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 1.21 percent to 375,500 won, and power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility surged 3.1 percent to 109,600 won.

Bio giant Samsung Biologics climbed 1.01 percent to 1.6 million won, and trading firm Samsung C&T jumped 2.23 percent to 297,500 won.

Financial shares also gained ground, with Shinhan Financial up 1.45 percent to 97,900 won and Mirae Asset Securities rising 1.5 percent to 67,700 won.

On the other hand, defense shares lost ground on hopes for a sooner-than-expected finish of the Iran war.

Hanwha Aerospace slid 4 percent to 1.32 million won, and Hyundai Rotem tumbled 3.33 percent to 180,100 won. Hanwha Systems dipped 3.55 percent to 136,000 won.

Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy lost 1.41 percent to 559,000 won, and its rival Hanwha Ocean went down 0.69 percent to 129,100 won.

Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor also lost 0.96 percent to 517,000 won, and its sister Kia contracted 1.17 percent to 168,500 won.

The local currency strengthened 0.4 won from the previous session to trade at 1,500.6 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m.

It marked the second consecutive day the local currency weakened through the psychologically important barrier of 1,500 won. On Thursday, the won was quoted at 1,501 won, the weakest since March 10, 2009, when it hit 1,511.1 won during the global financial crisis.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 8.1 basis points to 3.41 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds gained 3.4 basis points to 3.621 percent.

Yonhap