Hanwha Aerospace saw a dramatic surge of over 5% in early trading, setting a new all-time high.
At 9:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Hanwha Aerospace was trading at 1,055,000 KRW (about 756 USD), up 5.08% from the previous day’s close, marking a historic peak for the company.
The rally extended across the defense sector, with Hanwha Systems up 5.29%, Hyundai Rotem gaining 3.36%, Korea Aerospace Industries rising 2.56%, and LIG Nex1 advancing 1.72%.
Market analysts attribute this bullish trend to recent hawkish statements by U.S. President Donald Trump concerning Russia.
Following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, President Trump took a notably tougher stance. When questioned about Russian aircraft entering the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) airspace, he asserted that NATO should shoot down any Russian planes violating allied airspace, signaling a significant escalation in rhetoric.
While Ukraine has long sought Western support to secure its airspace, NATO countries have previously limited their assistance to providing air defense systems, wary of direct intervention that could trigger a wider conflict. However, recent incursions by Russian drones into the airspace of NATO members like Poland and Estonia appear to have shifted the strategic calculus, potentially heralding a more assertive approach to airspace violations.
