South Korean Stocks Enter Bull Market, Bonds Sink After Election

South Korea’s equity benchmark climbed to enter a bull market, after Lee Jae-myung’s widely-expected win in the presidential election ended a months-long political leadership vacuum.

The Kospi Index ended 2.7% higher on Wednesday, taking its gain from the April low to more than 20% as investors piled into potential beneficiaries of Lee’s reform and growth agenda. Holding companies, financial firms and brokerage stocks charged the Kospi higher on anticipation that Lee would seek to implement a key legislative change as early as this month that aims to boost shareholder returns.