▲ Officials work at the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on April 16, 2026. (Yonhap)

stocks-morning

Seoul shares sharply up late Thurs. morning on eased Mideast tensions

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded sharply higher late Thursday morning amid hopes for a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 132.06 points, or 2.17 percent, to 6,223.45 as of 11:20 a.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News released Wednesday (U.S. time) that the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is "very close to over," while the White House said further talks "would very likely" take place in the Pakistani capital.

A Pakistani delegation arrived in Tehran to help arrange another round of negotiations between the United States and Iran.

A blockade of Iranian ports by the U.S. Navy continued after the first round of negotiations failed over the weekend.

Tech and auto shares traded in positive territory.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics rose 3.08 percent, and SK hynix gained 1.85 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 6.1 percent and its sister Kia increased 4.75 percent.

Major shipbuilders HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean added 4.21 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Defense shares were mixed as industry leader Hanwha Aerospace went up 0.73 percent, while LIG D&A fell 1.79 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,473.45 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., up 0.75 won from the previous session.

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