Seoul: South Korean stocks started sharply higher Monday, driven by gains in tech shares, despite heightened military tensions in the Middle East. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 223.57 points, or 3.34 percent, to 6,910.78 at the opening bell.
According to Yonhap News Agency, overnight military attacks intensified between the United States and Iran. Tehran announced it had targeted three oil tankers using an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, along with several U.S.-linked vessels, as a counteraction to U.S. attacks on Iranian tankers.
On Friday, U.S. stocks closed lower due to strong job data, which raised the possibility of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.51 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.29 percent. However, the PHLX semiconductor index saw an increase of 3.38 percent following the release of OpenAI's new GPT-6 Astra, which is anticipated to boost demand for memory chips.