Shares of auto companies and shipbuilders in Korea soared in trading. They were backed by Trump

Quotes of automobile and shipbuilding companies in South Korea rose sharply at the opening of trading in Seoul. The excitement began after US President Donald Trump made a long-awaited deal with the South Korean leadership on duties and allowed the country to build nuclear submarines.

Shares of automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia jumped by 12.2% and 9% respectively in the first minutes of trading. The growth of quotations followed the final approval and disclosure of details of the trade agreement between Seoul and Washington, announced back in July, CNBC reports.

Following Trump's meeting with South Korean leader Lee Jae-men, it was announced that U.S. duties on goods from South Korea will be reduced in exchange for Seoul's $350 billion investment commitment. Under the new terms, the White House will reduce duties on South Korean imports from 25% to 15%. South Korea, for its part, will invest $200 billion in the U.S. economy in the form of direct investment and $150 billion in joint shipbuilding projects, the channel said.

Shares of South Korean shipbuilding giants were the leaders of growth on October 30. Shares of Hanwha Ocean, one of the country's leading shipbuilders, soared by 14.9%, Samsung Heavy Industries - by 8.3%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries - by 7.6%. South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper attributes the excitement to Trump's announcement on social media site Truth Social that he had agreed to South Korea building its first nuclear-powered submarine at "Philadelphia shipyards."

Samsung Securities analyst Lim Eun-young estimates that lowering U.S. duties will save South Korean automakers hundreds of millions of dollars a year. "For Hyundai Motor, the annual duty costs of 3.1 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in 2025 will drop to 2.3 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in 2026," Maeil Business Newspaper quoted her as saying.

A nuclear-powered submarine for Seoul could cost billions of dollars, and the case is unlikely to be limited to a single copy, according to KB Securities analyst Jeong Dong-ik. "Naval vessels are usually built in series of at least three units - for alternating between combat duty, crew training and maintenance. Such a project can significantly expand the market for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and their suppliers," the expert said.

According to FactSet, the vast majority of analysts consider Hyundai Motor and Kia securities attractive. The consensus rating for each of the car companies is Buy. No expert advises to sell them.

The consensus ratings for Hanwha Ocean, Samsung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries are Buy or Outperform, according to MarketScreener. Both ratings are buy recommendations.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor