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Kospi drops below 5,300 after Trump warns of imminent military action against Iran

Published: 02 Apr. 2026, 12:47

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room shows the Kospi trading on April 2 as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address on the war against Iran. [NEWS1]

Shares reversed early gains and fell more than 3 percent late on Thursday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of imminent military action against Iran, raising fears of a prolonged conflict and rattling investor sentiment.

The benchmark Kospi fell 191.02 points, or 3.49 percent, to 5,287.68 as of 11:20 a.m. after opening 1.33 percent higher at 5,551.69. The index extended early gains but turned negative during Trump’s address. Losses increased after the speech, with the Kospi briefly falling to 5,264.93.

The decline erased gains from the previous session, when the Kospi had surged more than 8 percent to return to the 5,400 level.

Foreign and retail investors led the sell-off, off-loading 271 billion won ($178 million) and 39.2 billion won, respectively, while institutions bought a net 178.3 billion won.

The secondary Kosdaq also reversed course, falling about 4.38 percent to around 1,066 as of 11:20 a.m. after opening higher.

Trading activity surged as the speech progressed. Per-minute volume, which stood at roughly 100 million to 200 million shares shortly after the open, jumped to about 800 million shares by around 11 a.m.

In his White House address, Trump said the United States would “hit [Iran] extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” reinforcing expectations of sustained military action.

The remarks added to uncertainty over global energy supply routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for oil shipments.

Oil prices rose following the comments, with U.S. crude topping $104 per barrel during the session, and the won weakened past 1,520 per dollar.

Heavyweight stocks tracked the broader decline. Samsung Electronics fell more than 5 percent to the 170,000 won range, and SK hynix also dropped over 5 percent to around 840,000 won. Hyundai Motor, Kia, Doosan Enerbility and Celltrion all traded lower.

Defense-related shares gained, with Hanwha Aerospace rising more than 5 percent and Hyundai Rotem climbing over 7 percent. Samsung Biologics and Samsung SDI posted modest gains.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]