South Korean financial markets experienced significant volatility once again on the 10th due to the mutual tariff suspension by the Donald Trump administration. The KOSPI soared, and the KRW/USD exchange rate, which had been on an upward trend due to concerns about a trade war, fell to the 1450 level.

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI index closed at 2445.06, up 151.36 points (6.60%) from the previous day. This rebound came after the KOSPI had fallen below the 2300 mark for the first time in 1 year and 5 months due to escalating trade war fears. The KOSDAQ index also closed at 681.79, up 38.40 points (5.97%) from the previous session.

Due to the impact of the mutual tariff suspension announcement, a buy-sidecar (temporary suspension of program buy orders) was triggered in the KOSPI market at 9:06 AM. This was the first buy-sidecar activation in the KOSPI since August 6th of last year, the day after "Black Monday" when the KOSPI plummeted. A buy-sidecar was also triggered in the KOSDAQ market.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the KRW/USD exchange rate closed the week at 1456.4 won, down 27.7 won from the previous day. The KRW/USD exchange rate had reached 1484.1 won at the previous day's weekly closing, its highest level in approximately 16 years since the global financial crisis.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]