KOSPI surges 7% after Iran thaw, Samsung truce, chip rally

South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 7% on Thursday in Seoul, ending a multi-day losing streak that had seen the index fall 9.35% after reaching an all-time high above 8,000 last Friday.

President Donald Trump described Washington as being in the “final stages” of negotiations with Tehran, easing earlier fears of immediate military action. Late Wednesday, Samsung Electronics and its union reached a last-minute wage agreement that suspended an 18-day strike scheduled to begin Thursday.

Samsung shares rose more than 6% on the session, while memory rival SK Hynix increased about 11%. Semiconductor stocks received further support after Nvidia reported revenue climbed 85% year-on-year to $81.62 billion.

The two companies now account for a record 42% of the KOSPI. Year-to-date, Samsung shares have gained about 130% and SK Hynix nearly 170% as demand for memory chips used in artificial-intelligence data centers has increased.

The KOSPI has tripled in less than 18 months, a pace that outstripped the Nasdaq Composite’s climb during the dotcom era by roughly six months. Analysts at Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan have raised their year-end KOSPI targets in recent weeks.

Trading across the Asia-Pacific region tracked gains on Wall Street on Thursday. Market participants cited reduced geopolitical risk, the Samsung labor settlement and stronger chip-sector results as factors behind the rebound.