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Kospi opens higher despite renewed Middle East tensions

Published: 20 Apr. 2026, 09:38

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on April 20. [YONHAP]

Seoul stocks opened a tad higher Monday amid woes that tensions in the Middle East would again flare up as Iran's military warned it would respond after U.S. forces attacked an Iranian-flagged ship.

The benchmark Kospi opened at 6,192.84, up 0.01 percent, or 0.92 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.

On Friday, Wall Street's major stock indexes closed more than 1 percent higher, as Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz would reopen, alleviating war-risk fears.

But Iran closed the key shipping route again as the U.S. attacked an Iranian-flagged commercial vessel that was attempting to violate its naval blockade in the Sea of Oman.

“The local stock market will see increased volatility this week amid uncertainties over U.S.-Iran negotiations," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

Tankers are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, on April 18 in this AP photo. [YONHAP]

Market participants have been pinning hopes that the United States and Iran would hold a second round of peace talks soon after they failed to reach a consensus at their first round of peace talks.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were trading mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched down 1.04 percent. Its chipmaking rival SK hynix, which is set to release its first quarter earnings results this week, rose 1.42 percent.

Auto giant Hyundai Motor fell 2.04 percent, while nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility rose 2.86 percent, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace climbed 1.05 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,476.8 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.7 won from the previous session.

Yonhap