▲ A trader works inside the dealing room in Hana Bank in central Seoul on April 17, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-new high

(LEAD) KOSPI set for new peak amid hopes of peace talks, tech rally

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SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index breached a pre-Middle East-crisis high Tuesday and is poised to reach a new high amid hopes for the U.S.-Iran peace talks and the revival of a tech rally.

After opening higher, the benchmark KOSPI hovered around the 6,340-point level at around 11:20 a.m., up nearly 2 percent from the previous session's close, after reaching an intraday high of 6,361.17.

The previous high was recorded on Feb. 26, when the benchmark index closed at 6,307.27.

Seoul shares had been suffering extreme volatility since the onset of the war between the United States and Iran.

The country's benchmark index had once fallen by as much as 12 percent in a single trading day and risen by as much as 9 percent.

The new milestone comes as optimism reemerges over South Korea's major chipmakers, while investors are becoming less sensitive to the developments in the Middle East, according to Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

Samsung Electronics Co., the country's top cap, reported record-high earnings results in the first quarter, announcing an operating profit of over 50 trillion won, aided by spiking demand for chips amid a boom in artificial intelligence (AI).

SK hynix is also poised to release its first-quarter earnings this week, which many market watchers expect would be a "super" earnings surprise.

"Market volatility also has eased to some degree and the global stock markets have been also roiled by developments in the Middle East crisis," Han said.

The analyst added that foreign investors also appear to be returning to the local market after offloading a record amount of 35 trillion won (US$23.8 billion) worth of local stocks last month.

The government's initiatives to enhance shareholder returns and reform the capital markets could open up space for a further advance in the KOSPI's momentum, market watchers said.

Goldman Sachs has recently raised its 12-month target for the KOSPI from 7,000 points to 8,000 points, citing improving fundamentals across industries.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said South Korea still remains among the bank's "top preferred markets" in the region, raising its "bull" case for the KOSPI to 8,500 points.

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