South Korea's Kospi clocks best month in 28 years as tech optimism triumphs over Iran war worries

south korea's kospi had its best month since january 1998, up nearly 31%. tech stocks powered the rally, with sk hynix up 60% and samsung electronics up 35% for the month. hsbc upgraded south korea to "neutral" from "underweight" last week, saying recent foreign outflows had reduced downside risks from geopolitical volatility. the milestone came as broader asia-pacific markets declined thursday. the kospi fell 1.38% to 6,598.8. oil spiked after axios reported the u.s. central command was set to present trump with plans for possible military action against iran. brent crude hit $121.98 a barrel, its highest since mid-2022. trump had reportedly rejected tehran's proposal to reopen the strait of hormuz.