South Korean stocks show strong increase following easing of tensions in Middle East

Also in related news.

The local bourse responded favorably to Mr. Trump's claim of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

In fact the benchmark KOSPI broke past the 3-thousand-100 mark.

Our correspondent Park Jun-han has more.

South Korea's stock market rallied with strong momentum on Tuesday, with potential reports indicating a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI, for the first time in three years and nine months, surpassed 31-hundred points and closed with over 3-thousand-1-hundred-3 points, up 2-point-96 percent from Monday's close.

Also, South Korea's tech-heavy KOSDAQ closed beyond 800 points for the first time in 11 months.

"With oil prices falling and the U.S. dollar weakening again, foreign demand for South Korean stocks picked up, leading to strong buying. This helped the KOSPI break through the 31-hundred mark during intraday trading."

Among stocks that showed a strong increase on Tuesday were some of the country's tech giants, SK hynix and Samsung Electronics.

SK hynix once again broke its all-time high, surpassing the 280-thousand won mark, while Samsung Electronics rebounded to the 60-thousand won level during the day.

The won's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar fell as tensions deescalated.

The rate opened at 1-thousand-3-hundred-69 won on the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market, 15-point-3 won lower than Monday's market close.

Later in the day, the gap widened to end at around 1-thousand-3-hundred-60 won—down 24-point-1 won from Monday's close at 3:30 PM.

Global oil prices sharply fell to pre-war levels following reports of a temporary ceasefire.

Brent Crude oil, which once traded above 81 U.S. dollars on Monday, is trading below 70 dollars as of Tuesday, which is an over 12-percent decrease in just a day.

As South Korea is heavily dependent on oil imports, the changes in oil prices could affect the country's economy in various ways.

"Korea imports almost 100 percent of its crude oil. When oil prices rise, it directly impacts the petrochemical industry, which uses oil as a raw material. But many other sectors are also tied to oil prices. Higher oil costs increase import prices and make exports more difficult."

South Korean officials on Monday held an inter-agency meeting to crack down on unfair oil price surges and monitor financial markets to swiftly address any difficulties that may arise.

Park Jun-han, Arirang News.