Shipping stocks rally on Strait of Hormuz risk

(Reuters/Yonhap)

South Korean shipping stocks surged Monday morning amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, where Iran is reportedly moving to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to a U.S. nuclear facility strike and triggering a sharp rise in maritime freight rates.

HMM shares were trading at 23,550 won ($17.06) as of 9:26 a.m., up 2.39 percent from the previous session. The stock jumped 6.96 percent earlier to hit 24,600 won. Other shipping stocks also rallied, with Heung-A Shipping up 15.74 percent, Korea Line Corporation up 9.63 percent, Pan Ocean rising 2.56 percent, and KSS Line climbing 2.14 percent.

The sharp gains followed a spike in oil tanker freight rates, driven by the intensifying Middle East crisis. Rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) operating between Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, and Chiba, Japan rose by more than 85 percent in two weeks as of June 20th, 2025.

Iran’s parliament has approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint that handles about 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products daily - nearly one-fifth of global seaborne oil trade. The final decision now rests with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Meanwhile, Kosdaq-listed BridgeBio’s stock hit the daily upper limit after the company announced plans to transfer management rights to a U.S. digital asset hedge fund. The move comes after BridgeBio saw a sharp drop in its share price following disappointing Phase 2 clinical trial results for its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug candidate BBT-877.

The company disclosed after market close on June 20th that it had signed an agreement to issue new shares and convertible bonds totaling 25 billion won to Parataxis Korea Fund No. 1, a vehicle backed by Parataxis Holdings LLC, an affiliate of U.S.-based Parataxis Capital Management.

Following the deal, BridgeBio will be renamed Parataxis Korea. Parataxis Holdings CEO and founder Edward Chin will join the board, while Andrew Kim, a partner at Parataxis Capital, will become CEO. Co-founder James Lee will remain on the board and continue to lead the company’s core biotech operations.

BridgeBio’s stock had previously plunged below 1,000 won from the 8,000-won level after its April announcement that its lead drug candidate had failed to show meaningful efficacy.

HMM shares closed at 23,550 won, while BridgeBio shares closed at 1,225 won.