▲ The dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul on May 7, 2026 (Yonhap)

stocks-morning

Seoul shares narrow gains late Thurs. morning on profit hunting after rally

SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks narrowed gains late Thursday morning as investors hunted for profits following a record-breaking rally amid rising optimism for an end to the U.S.-Iran war.

Hitting a new all-time intraday high of 7,523.84 shortly after the opening bell, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shifted to negative territory, adding 29.34 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,413.9 as of 11:20 a.m.

Traders sold to lock in profits after the KOSPI jumped 6.5 percent a day earlier to breach the 7,000-point mark for the first time and close at 7,384.56.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq surged to record-high closes on Wednesday, buoyed by signs of a peace agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran, and strong earnings from chipmakers and artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks.

Washington and Tehran exchanged a fresh proposal to end the war, while U.S. President Donald Trump said there is a possibility a deal with Iran could be reached before his trip to Beijing next week.

In Seoul, major stocks traded in mixed territory.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.56 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix added 0.87 percent.

Leading banking groups KB Financial Group and Hana Financial Group climbed 1.07 percent and 1.99 percent, respectively.

However, home appliances giant LG Electronics decreased 4.52 percent, and AI investment firm SK Square declined 0.55 percent.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace fell 5.3 percent, and major gamemaker NC dropped 2.87 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,450.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 5 won from the previous session.

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