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Kospi almost unchanged after U.S.-China trade deal

Published: 13 May. 2025, 10:16 Updated: 13 May. 2025, 10:27

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on May 13. [NEWS1]

Korean stocks started nearly unchanged Tuesday following a trade agreement between the United States and China, while the tariff deal pushed up the exchange rate and lowered the won value.

The Kospi added 0.75 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,608.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

After two days of talks in Switzerland over the weekend, the United States and China agreed to cut reciprocal tariffs on each other for 90 days.

Wall Street welcomed the deal, with three major indexes rising sharply.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.81 percent, and the S&P 500 jumped 3.26 percent. The Nasdaq composite vaulted 4.35 percent.

In Seoul, however, major shares started in mixed territory.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics stayed flat and its chipmaking rival SK hynix advanced 1.9 percent.

Hyundai Motor, No. 1 carmaker, rose 0.66 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution decreased 0.16 percent.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace fell 3.17 percent, and top bio tech firm Samsung Biologics mounted 1.31 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,412.65 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 10.55 won from the previous session.

Yonhap