Business
Kospi jumps over 8% on Iran peace deal hopes; world’s best-performing market up 94% YTD
The benchmark KOSPI jumped 660 points, or 8.5%, to 8,424. The surge helped the index finish the week up 3.2%, reversing some of the damage from the previous week when it had fallen 3.7% amid a sharp global selloff in AI and technology stocks.
Despite the turbulence, the KOSPI remains the world’s top-performing stock index this year. The benchmark has surged 94% so far in 2026, largely powered by a rally in semiconductor stocks tied to the artificial intelligence boom.
Technology heavyweights led Friday’s advance. Samsung Electronics climbed 12.21%, while rival SK Hynix gained 8.85%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 6.11%. Automakers also joined the rally, with Hyundai Motor advancing 6.03% and affiliate Kia Corp adding 4.81%. Steel producer POSCO Holdings gained 6.84%, while Samsung BioLogics edged up 1.01%.
The rebound came after Trump said on Thursday that the United States and Iran could sign a peace agreement as soon as this weekend, a move that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Iran, however, said it had not yet made a final decision on any agreement.
Trump also said discussions with Iran had been elevated to the highest levels of the Iranian leadership and received approval. According to him, key elements of the proposed agreement had been approved “in both concept and great detail” by parties including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt, among others.
Friday’s rally capped a week marked by extreme volatility. The KOSPI triggered “sidecar” trading curbs in four sessions, including Friday. Earlier in the week, circuit breakers were activated for the third time this year and the ninth time on record.Only days earlier, the world’s best-performing equity market had been caught in the global technology rout. AI and semiconductor stocks, the standout winners of 2025 and 2026, came under intense pressure as investors questioned whether the rally had run ahead of underlying fundamentals. The impact was particularly severe in South Korea, one of the markets most exposed to the AI supply chain, with index tumbling as much as 8% in a single session this week.
The pullback came despite a powerful long-term growth story. Demand for AI infrastructure has surged over the past year as technology companies worldwide race to develop advanced AI models and expand computing capacity. That has fuelled robust demand for high-bandwidth memory chips and channeled investor interest into South Korean chipmakers, which occupy a critical position in the global AI supply chain.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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Business
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BPCL, HPCL, IOCL shares rally up to 4% as oil prices hit two-month low. What are experts saying?
HPCL shares gained 3.5% to their day’s high of Rs 379 on the BSE, while IOCL shares rallied 3% to Rs 138 per share. BPCL soared the most, up 4.5% to Rs 295.
US President Donald Trump said a deal with Iran could be reached as early as this weekend. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had called off the strikes after discussions with Iran were elevated to the highest levels of the Iranian leadership and received approval. He said key points of a proposed agreement had been approved “in both concept and great detail” by parties including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt, among others.
Brent crude futures fell $1.21, or 1.3%, to $89.17 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.23, or 1.4%, to $86.48 a barrel. Brent crude fell nearly 2% at the open to as low as $88.79 per barrel after settling at a two-month low in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded near $86 a barrel.
Downstream or oil marketing stocks usually come under pressure when oil prices rise as their input costs increase sharply while their ability to pass these costs on remains limited. These companies buy crude at higher prices, refine it and sell the end products, but pricing is often regulated, restricting full cost pass-through to consumers. As a result, margins get squeezed when product prices do not rise in line with crude.
What are experts saying?
Even if a deal is reached, analysts believe it could take several months for oil shipments through the strait to fully normalise and for damaged energy infrastructure to be repaired.
Last month, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that disruptions in Hormuz could delay stability in global oil markets until 2027, with nearly 100 million barrels of oil supply per week potentially impacted. Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest oil producer.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley said the oil market was in “a race against time,” cautioning that the factors preventing crude prices from rising further may weaken if the Strait of Hormuz remains shut through June.The brokerage added that higher US crude exports and softer demand from China have so far helped prevent a deeper supply shock. However, it warned that an extended closure of Hormuz could tighten global supplies again if disruptions continue beyond what the US and China can comfortably absorb.
Iran has effectively enforced a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz since early March, requiring ships to obtain clearance before passing through the route or risk being targeted. The restrictions were imposed after US and Israeli strikes reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with several senior leaders.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints, with roughly 20% of global oil supply moving through the passage before the conflict. Iran’s blockade has sharply reduced crude exports from the Middle East, leading to what has been described as one of the largest supply disruptions in history.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
Business
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