South Korean shares rose to a new record high on Monday, following their strongest monthly gain in April, as investors weighed tensions between Iran and the US and a US plan to reopen shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US would try to “free” stranded ships affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Iran war, US President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
Dubbed “Project Freedom”, the effort is due to start on Monday, Middle Eastern time, and will mainly focus on removing civilian ships flagged by countries not involved in the conflict from the disputed waterway so they can “go about their business freely and nimbly”.
“US military support for Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned aerial platforms and 15,000 military personnel,” US Central Command said shortly after Trump’s announcement.
Oil prices were volatile as investors continued to evaluate President Trump’s “Project Freedom” plan. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for July delivery were down 0.20% at $101.74 a barrel in early Monday morning ET. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures prices were down 0.06% at $108.08 per barrel, SEEbiz reports.
Other Asia-Pacific indices were mostly up. The Kospi index rose by 4.44%. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose to record daily highs, gaining over 4% and 12% respectively, boosted by positive sentiment following the release of US technology results.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 1.71%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.48%. India’s Nifty 50 extended early gains, rising 1.04%.
Markets in Japan and China are closed for public holidays.
