[Market Focus] Defense Stocks Drop on Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement

On the morning of October 10, defense industry stocks are showing a collective decline. This appears to be due to news of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

As of 9:50 a.m. on this day, shares of Hanwha Aerospace are down 5.1% from the previous trading day's closing price, trading at 1,041,000 won. LIG Nex1 (-5.94%), Poongsan (-5.06%), Hanwha Systems (-4.18%), and Hyundai Rotem (-3.32%) are also showing downward trends.

On October 10 (local time), the Israeli cabinet announced that it had approved the first-phase ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the Palestinian armed faction, in the early morning hours. Following the cabinet's approval, the Israeli military must withdraw from designated areas in the Gaza Strip within 24 hours. Over the next 72 hours, Hamas is required to release surviving hostages, and subsequently, the bodies of deceased hostages must be handed over in stages.

With the Russia-Ukraine war entering a lull and the news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, investor sentiment toward defense industry stocks appears to have weakened.