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Kospi breaks 4,100 for first time after breakthrough in trade talks with U.S.

Published: 30 Oct. 2025, 10:30

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Oct. 30. [YONHAP]

Shares opened sharply higher Thursday as market sentiment revived after Seoul finalized its tariff deal with Washington the previous day, while the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its key rate for the second time this year.

The Kospi rose 42.89 points, or 1.05 percent, to 4,124.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading, breaking the 4,100 mark for the first time ever.

Overnight, major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed as Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank might not cut interest rates again this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 0.16 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.55 percent.

The Fed lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point, bringing the U.S. base rate to a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent.

Powell, however, said there were "strongly differing views about how to proceed in December," adding that a further reduction of the country's base rate was "not a foregone conclusion" but rather "far from it."

Also on Wednesday, the United States and Korea finalized the details of their trade deal on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Investors are now turning their eyes to a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, set to take place in Korea's southeastern port city of Busan later Thursday.

In Seoul, most large cap shares were trading higher.

Top-cap Samsung Electronics added 2.49 percent, while rival SK hynix advanced 0.72 percent.

Carmakers gathered ground after Trump agreed to lower U.S. tariffs on Korean cars and auto parts from 25 percent to 15 percent.

Hyundai Motor jumped 6.59 percent, and its sister company Kia moved up 4.84 percent.

In contrast, major portal operator Naver declined 1.98 percent, and nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility fell 4.46 percent.

The local currency was quoted at 1,423.32 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.59 percent from the previous session's close of 1,431.7 won.

Yonhap