Seoul, March 10 (IANS) South Korean stocks started sharply higher on Tuesday, a day after a sharp decline, as US President Donald Trump hinted the US-Iran war “is very complete.”

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 271.34 points, or 5.17 perc ent, to 5,523.21 at the opening bell.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 per cent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.38 per cent, and the S&P 500 increased 0.83 per cent. The KOPSI fell 5.96 per cent on Monday, reports Yonhap news agency.

During an interview with CBS News, Trump said the war with Iran is very complete, which led to a sharp decline in global crude prices.

In the previous session, the Korea Exchange (KRX) activated a circuit breaker on the main bourse, suspending trading for 20 minutes following extreme market volatility.

It marked the first time a circuit breaker had been activated twice in a single month since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the market. The previous one was issued Wednesday last week when the KOSPI sank 12.06 percent, the steepest one-day decline since Sept. 12, 2001.

Shortly after the opening bell, program trading on the main bourse was suspended for five minutes. A sidecar is triggered by the Korea Exchange (KRX) when the KOSPI 200 futures index moves 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

After dipping 5.96 percent in the previous session, investors hunted for bargains in the morning in response to news reports that Trump said the war with Iran is “very complete,” which led to a sharp decline in global crude prices.

In Seoul, top market cap Samsung Electronics jumped 9.91 percent, and SK hynix soared 13.16 percent.

Air carriers also traded higher on falling crude prices, with Korean Air gaining 8.93 percent, and Asiana Airlines adding 4.8 percent.

Oil refiners traded mixed, with SK Innovation rising 1.27 percent, while S-Oil slid 7.71 percent. KB Financial increased 4.14 percent, and Shinhan Financial rose 1.47 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,471.5 won against the U.S. dollar, up 24 won from the previous session.

—IANS

na/