Seoul stocks hit third straight record high on tech rally, Iran truce news

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index surged for a third consecutive session to a record high Thursday, rising 0.97 percent to 6,480.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading, driven by semiconductor stock gains and news that U.S. President Donald Trump would extend the American ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, the Korea Times reported.

The milestone marks South Korea's first sustained run of record equity highs in roughly two months, reflecting a convergence of strong corporate earnings in the semiconductor sector and easing geopolitical risk — developments that carry weight across global markets exposed to Korean equities.

Samsung Electronics surged 3.22 percent and SK hynix advanced 1.47 percent, leading broad tech gains that pushed the index up 62.23 points on the session, according to the Korea Times. SK hynix this week reported record first-quarter revenue and profit, fueled by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in artificial intelligence servers.

The domestic rally followed strong overnight gains on Wall Street. The S&P 500 climbed 1.05 percent, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.64 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.69 percent, with all three indices closing at record levels, the Korea Times reported.

Geopolitical sentiment also supported buyers after Trump announced the United States would extend its ceasefire with Iran indefinitely following a breakdown in peace negotiations. The move eased concerns that resumed conflict could disrupt oil supplies and rattle markets.

Not all sectors shared in the advance. LG Energy Solution fell 4.13 percent and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries dropped 3.43 percent, while Doosan Enerbility bucked the trend with a 5 percent jump. The Korean won weakened against the dollar amid surging global oil prices, trading at 1,480.95 won per dollar at 9:15 a.m. local time, according to the Korea Times.

The KOSPI surpassed its previous all-time high for the first time in about two months on Monday, the Korea Times reported, and has posted record closes in each of the three sessions since, approaching the 6,500-point threshold.