SEOUL, June 15 (AJP) - South Korean and Japanese markets roared Monday, gaining 5 percent on a preliminary U.S.-Iran peace deal snapped fears of a prolonged energy shock and triggered a broad risk-on rally across the region.
The KOSPI jumped 422.36 points to close at 8,545.98. The index rose as high as 8,603.48 during the session after opening sharply higher, while its intraday low was 8,450.24.
Foreign and institutional investors led the rally. Foreigners bought a net 985.9 billion won ($651 million) worth of shares on the main bourse, while institutions purchased 539.2 billion won. Retail investors sold a net 1.49 trillion won, locking in gains after the index's steep rebound.
A buy-side sidecar was triggered shortly after the opening bell after KOSPI 200 futures surged more than 5 percent, temporarily halting program buy orders for five minutes.
The rally followed news that Washington and Tehran had reached a tentative agreement aimed at ending months of conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5.9 percent to $79.9 per barrel, while Brent crude dropped 5.2 percent to $82.8.
Oil-sensitive sectors were among the biggest beneficiaries. Airlines jumped 10.7 percent, while the broader airline and low-cost carrier theme surged 14.2 percent. Korean Air climbed 12.8 percent to 30,000 won, as investors bet that lower fuel costs would improve earnings conditions for carriers.
Large-cap technology and chip-related shares powered the advance. Samsung Electronics rose 4.5 percent to 337,000 won, while SK hynix gained 6.4 percent to 2,288,000 won. Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 16.6 percent to 1,999,000 won, and LG Innotek surged 16.7 percent to 1,209,000 won.
The rally also spread to electrical equipment and components. LS ELECTRIC advanced 15.7 percent to 257,500 won, while Foosung climbed 17.8 percent to 22,400 won. SK Eternix rose 13.6 percent to 48,850 won.
By sector, electronic equipment and devices led the market with a 13.4 percent gain, followed by airlines at 10.7 percent and electrical equipment at 9.4 percent.
Not all stocks joined the rally. Hyundai Engineering & Construction fell 7.9 percent to 145,000 won, and Leeno Industrial dropped 7.4 percent to 96,800 won. Mirae Asset Venture Investment plunged 20.8 percent to 30,750 won, pressured by fallout from Mirae Asset Securities' failure to secure client allocations in SpaceX's blockbuster initial public offering.
Mirae Asset Securities ended 1.7 percent lower at 51,400 won, underperforming sharply despite the broader market surge.
The smaller-cap KOSDAQ gained only 4.98 points, or 0.5 percent, to finish at 1,034.03. Individuals bought a net 616.4 billion won on the KOSDAQ, while foreigners sold 816.6 billion won. On the KOSDAQ, hair-loss treatment shares rallied after the government signaled it may review possible health insurance coverage for the sector. TS Trillion hit the daily upper limit, rising 30 percent to 1,206 won.
Withus Pharmaceutical jumped 22.8 percent to 8,180 won, while Innogene rose 9.2 percent to 1,583 won.
The won strengthened slightly against the dollar, quoted at 1,514.6 won per dollar, down 0.01 percent from the previous session.
Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 5 percent to close at 69,317.5, helped by strong gains in technology and semiconductor-related shares. The Shanghai Composite rose 1.6 percent to 4,096.5, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.6 percent to 24,858.24.
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