South Korean stocks hit a new record high on Monday, defying a mixed performance in Asia-Pacific markets as investors tracked lingering uncertainty over US-Iran talks after President Donald Trump said there was “no rush” to reach an agreement to end the conflict.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.31%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.58%. Samsung Electronics shares rose more than 3% to hit a record high.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.17%, while the Topix fell 0.3%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.21%.
Shares in SoftBank Group rose 5% after the conglomerate announced plans on Sunday to invest 45 billion euros ($53 billion) over the next five years to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in France.
The Hang Seng index rose by 0.73%, while the CSI 300 fell by 0.32%, SEEbiz reports.
The US and Iran still haven’t finalized an agreement to end the conflict, Trump said in an interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Fox News on Saturday. He added that he insists on a deal that would ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.
While he said he would prefer a quick solution, he stressed that he was in no rush to negotiate and warned that military action could continue if talks fail.
“I’d like to say I’m in a hurry because gas prices are going to go down, but if you’re going to rush, you’re not going to make a good deal,” Trump said. “And slowly but surely we’re getting, I think, what we want, and if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end it in a different way.”
