KOSPI hits record 6,376 Straits of Hormuz reclosed within 24 hours

On April 21, KOSPI surged 2.5% intraday to close at 6,376.28, surpassing the February 26 record of 6,307.27. Foreign investors executed a single-day net buy of over 1 trillion won, with SK Hynix attracting 266.7 billion won and Samsung Electronics 204.9 billion won (including preferred shares). The cumulative foreign net purchases from April 7–21 reached 5.7915 trillion won, concentrated on SK Hynix at 2.4128 trillion won and Samsung Electronics at 1.0946 trillion won.

President Trump announced on April 21 that he would extend Iran's ceasefire through the end of negotiations at Pakistan's request, while maintaining the maritime blockade. According to the IMO, 2,000 vessels and 20,000 sailors became stranded in the Persian Gulf on the same day, and the Pentagon reported to the House Armed Services Committee that mine clearance in the Straits would require six months. Brent crude rose 6 cents to $96.32, up $29.70 from a year ago.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency filed an arrest warrant against HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk on April 21 on charges of capital market law violations. Prosecutors allege he told investors during the 2019 IPO that there were no listing plans, prompting them to sell shares to private equity funds, netting him illicit gains of approximately 190 billion won ($129 million). Bang's side countered that despite long-term cooperation, the warrant request is regrettable and denied wrongdoing. The prosecution later dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence.

Global venture funding reached $56 billion in April, a 100% year-on-year increase and the third-largest monthly total in a year. Anthropic's $15B and Bezos's Project Prometheus at $10B accounted for 45% of April's VC activity. AI funding alone totaled $37 billion, representing 66% of all funding. Bloomberg reports that Anthropic is considering additional funding rounds valued at $800B+ (April 14) and $900B+ (April 29).

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to a record low of 49.8 in April. One-year inflation expectations jumped 100 basis points from 3.8% in March to 4.8% in April, the largest monthly move since April 2025. Headline CPI rose 0.9% month-on-month in March (the highest since June 2022), with gasoline climbing 21.2% (the largest increase since 1967 in the BLS dataset). Average gasoline prices crossed the $4 mark and diesel surpassed $5.

As of April, Waymo operates commercial services across 11 metropolitan regions, providing over 500,000 autonomous rides per week. Nashville became the 11th city to join on April 7 through a Lyft partnership. Public road testing commenced in London on April 14, with general public availability expected in September. The sixth-generation system is operational, and Waymo targets 20 new cities in 2026.

On April 21, the Goldman Environmental Prize (Green Nobel) announced its 2026 winners—all six female recipients, a historic first since the award's establishment in 1989. South Korea's Kim Bo-rim (Youth 4 Climate Action) became Asia's first youth-led successful constitutional petition for climate action, strengthening government emissions reduction obligations. Other winners include Nigeria's Iroro Tanshi, UK's Sarah Finch, Papua New Guinea's Theonila Roka Matbob, USA's Alannah Acaq Hurley, and Colombia's Yuvelis Morales Blanco.