Seoul's opening
The Seoul stock market began Tuesday's session sharply higher, following the gains recorded the previous night on Wall Street. According to The Korea Herald, at 9:15 local time the benchmark KOSPI index was up 189.18 points, or 3.46%, reaching 5,658.65. It was a firm opening, reflecting a broad improvement in investor sentiment.
The boost from U.S. markets and the AI sector
Seoul's move mirrors the performance of the main U.S. indices in the previous session: the Dow Jones gained 0.28%, the S&P 500 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite 0.82%. According to the source, sentiment improved after artificial intelligence startup Anthropic disclosed particularly solid revenue growth figures in its documentation for a U.S. stock market listing. The development rekindled interest in AI-related stocks, ahead of earnings from major technology companies and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision.
Oil and leading stocks
Supporting the market is also the retreat in oil prices, linked to expectations of de-escalation in the Middle East after reports of a Qatari mediation effort involving Iran and the United States. On the Korean market, large-cap stocks posted broad gains: Samsung Electronics rose 4.69% and SK hynix 7.14%. SK Square, the parent company of SK hynix, climbed 10.4%, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 8.77%.
On the currency front, the won was trading at 1,325.3 per dollar at 9:15, slightly stronger by 0.7 won compared with the previous session's close. In the same article, the source also reports other data: according to the central bank, the South Korean economy grew 1% in the third quarter from the previous quarter, supported by exports and investment.
What remains to be verified
The picture that emerges is one of a day of strong enthusiasm, but not all the factors supporting it are assured. Anthropic's revenue data are cited by the source during the filing stage for its listing, and their impact on the markets will depend on the outcome of the process and on market conditions. Similarly, the easing in oil prices is tied to news of mediation still under way, not to a defined outcome.
It therefore remains to be verified how the Korean session actually performs beyond the opening, along with the earnings of U.S. Big Tech companies and the Federal Reserve decision—all factors the source identifies as expected events that could shape sentiment in the coming hours.
