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South Korean stocks shot up by the most in six years Tuesday, rebounding from the previous session’s deep trough, as investors brushed off concerns over the newly nominated Federal Reserve chair and went bargain hunting. The Korean won also rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 338.41 points, or 6.84 percent, to close at a new high of 5,288.08, a sharp upturn from the previous day’s plummet.

It marked the steepest daily increase since March 24, 2020, when the index rose by 8.6 percent, according to data provided by the Korea Exchange (KRX), South Korea’s main bourse operator.

Trade volume was heavy at 666.5 million shares worth 29.3 trillion won (US$20.3 billion). Winners outnumbered losers 825 to 75.

Strong buying demand triggered the KRX to temporarily suspend stock purchases in early trading.

The temporary halt in trading, also known as a “sidecar” in Korea, came a day after the bourse operator issued a sidecar for sell orders, with the KOSPI plunging by more than 5 percent.

The last time when the KRX consecutively issued a sell-side and a buy-side sidecar was on April 7 and 8, following U.S. President Donald Trump‘s announcement of sweeping tariffs, Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst from Daishin Securities, said.

“As there was no change in the market’s fundamentals, the benchmark index recovered on bargain hunting,” he said.

On a similar note, JP Morgan raised its target for the KOSPI to a range of 6,000 to 7,500 in a report released Tuesday, citing strong delivery in other sectors, such as defense and shipbuilding.

Foreign and Institutional investors turned net buyers, scooping up 703.3 billion won and 2.2 trillion won of equities, respectively. Retail investors sold off a net 2.9 trillion won.

Large-cap shares ended higher across the board.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics soared 11.37 percent to 167,500 won, while its rival SK hynix advanced 9.28 percent to 907,000 won.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose 4.84 percent to 1,299,000 won, top carmaker Hyundai Motor added 2.82 percent 491,500 won, and major financial group KB Financial closed up 3.81 percent to 138,800 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,445.4 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 18.9 won from the previous session.

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The UK government is said to be planning a significant increase in the cost of its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), hurting travellers’ pockets once again.

Travellers heading to the UK could soon be forced to dig deeper in their pockets as the government plans to increase the cost of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). A 25% rise is claimed to be in the offing, which would push the fee up from £16 to £20.

The ETA scheme, first rolled out back in 2023, applies only to visitors from countries that do not require a visa to enter the UK. This includes citizens from EU member states, as well as visitors from the US, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, among others.

It allows multiple trips to the UK with stays of up to six months over a two-year period, or until a traveller’s passport expires. Nevertheless, this isn’t the first price rise in recent times, and is yet another sign of people’s pockets being hit.

Just last year, the cost of an ETA jumped up by 60%, going from £10 to £16, with this higher fee enforced in April 2025. Now, a home office briefing suggests ministers want to pump up the price once again, although no official date has been confirmed, and the increase would still require parliamentary approval.

“As with all our fees, the cost of an ETA is kept under review, and we intend to increase the cost of an ETA to £20 in the future,” said a Home Office spokesperson. “We will provide more information in due course.”

The government has been a strong defender of the scheme, revealing that 19.6 million ETAs were granted over its first two years of operation, up to last September. Further changes are on the way, however, with new rules from February 25 preventing eligible visitors from boarding transport on route to the UK without an approved ETA.

Travellers passing through UK airports on connecting flights via passport control still need an ETA, unless they are going through London Heathrow or Manchester airports and do not cross the UK border.

This potential price hike has sparked concern across the travel industry, with Joss Croft, CEO of travel association UKinbound saying: “Increasing visa and ETA costs risks pulling the visitor economy in the wrong direction and stunting that growth.

“International visitors have a choice, and the UK already has some of the highest entry costs in the world. Making it even more expensive to visit undermines our competitiveness and puts valuable export income at risk.

“Inbound tourism supports jobs, high streets, pubs and hospitality businesses in communities across the UK. If the government wants growth to be felt locally, it must rethink these increases and keep the UK open, welcoming and competitive.”

It comes after other countries and regions confirmed plans to raise their own travel authorisation fees. The EU is expected to charge €20 for its upcoming ETIAS system, due to launch in late 2026, while the US ESTA fee almost doubled to $40 in September 2025.