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Kospi reaches historic high ahead of Iran war cease-fire deadline

Published: 21 Apr. 2026, 09:53

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on April 21. [NEWS1]

Korean stocks surpassed their pre-Iran war high Tuesday morning after a sharply high opening ahead of the deadline for the end of the two-week cease-fire set by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Kospi opened up 1.34 percent, or 83.45 points, higher at 6,302.54 on Tuesday morning.

It then broke the 6,350 mark during intraday trading, touching a record 6,355.39, higher than the previous high of 6,347.41 recorded on Feb. 27 this year.

Still, investors are keeping an eye on the situation in the Middle East, with the deadline for the cease-fire approaching.

Trump said the cease-fire will end on "Wednesday evening Washington time," adding that it would be "highly unlikely" he would extend it if a deal is not reached before then.

Iran's foreign ministry, however, said there were no plans for talks "as of now."

Overnight, major stock indexes on Wall Street closed lower, with the S&P500 inching down 0.24 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling 0.26 percent.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, YONHAP [[email protected]]