Kospi Within Reach of 8,000 as Korea-US Deepen Defense Ties

South Korea's Kospi opened at a fresh record on Thursday for the second day running, just shy of the 8,000-point mark. After a 0.38 percent opening pop, the index was up 71.25 points or 0.91 percent at 7,915.26 by 9:15 a.m. local time. The Korean won was at 1,489.9 per dollar, up 0.7 won on the session.

Wall Street set the tone overnight. The Nasdaq closed 1.2 percent higher, the S&P 500 added 0.58 percent, and the Dow gave up 0.14 percent. Yonhap noted that the rally was driven less by a faster-than-expected April jump in US producer prices and more by the optics of the Beijing summit, where Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook joined Trump's delegation.

The tech engine

The day's leaders look familiar. Samsung Electronics climbed 1.76 percent at the open and SK hynix added 0.2 percent. Hyundai Motor rose 1.27 percent, with auto-parts maker Hyundai Mobis up 4.78 percent. LG Energy Solution gained 1.63 percent and Samsung SDI 0.32 percent. Hanwha Aerospace, the defense heavyweight, was up 0.86 percent.

The momentum has been building. On Wednesday the Kospi rebounded 2.63 percent to close at 7,844.01, a fresh peak, on the back of semiconductor and auto buying ahead of the Xi-Trump summit. Trade volume was heavy at 49.7 trillion won (about $33.4 billion), with locals and institutions buying while foreigners sold a net 3.7 trillion won.

Defense talks in Washington

The market story is running alongside a security story. South Korea and the US wrapped two days of Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) talks in Washington on Wednesday US time. The joint statement said both sides 'looked forward to further deepening cooperation to achieve shared security goals on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific region.' Kim Hong-cheol, deputy defense minister for policy, led for Seoul, John Noh for Washington.

Two open items shape the next steps. Seoul is pushing to take back wartime operational control within President Lee Jae Myung's term that ends in 2030, with 2028 a working target. US Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson told Congress last month the conditions should be met no later than the first quarter of 2029. Acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, listed in last year's summit fact sheet, was likely discussed but is not in the readout.

Sources: Yonhap News