South Korean stocks rise on Hyundai Motor group's gains, Sino-U.S. trade hopes

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korea's KOSPI stock index closed higher on Wednesday buoyed by the gains in shares of the country's biggest carmaker Hyundai Motor Co and its affiliates, amid fresh hopes of a U.S.-China trade war truce. Both the Korean won and bond yields also rose.

** Hyundai Motor Co appointed President Albert Biermann as its first foreign head of research and development (R&D) as part of a sweeping reshuffle which helped send the South Korean automaker's shares surging up to nearly 9 percent on Wednesday.

** In an interview with Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would intervene in the Justice Department's case against a top executive at China's Huawei Technologies if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China.

** Trump also said that China was buying a "tremendous amount" of U.S. soybeans and that trade talks with Beijing were already underway by telephone, with more meetings likely among U.S. and Chinese officials.

** At 06:33 GMT, the KOSPI closed up 29.60 points or 1.44 percent at 2,082.57.

** Hyundai Motor Group shares jumped after appointment of a new R&D chief. Shares of Hyundai Motor Co ended 6.3 percent higher, while its auto parts affiliates Hyundai Mobis  and Hyundai Wia closed up 9.0 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively. The company's logistics arm Hyundai Glovis also gained 9.6 percent.

** Hydrogen-powered car parts companies surged as Hyundai Motor Co and its suppliers plan to invest $6.8 billion in research and development and to expand facilities related to fuel cell systems. Iljin Diamond Co Ltd and Neuros Co Ltd jumped 19.0 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.

** South Korean cosmetic brands popular among Chinese customers jumped after U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh upbeat comment on a trade deal with China. Shares of Amorepacific Corp and Amorepacific Group closed up 8.0 percent and 5.4 percent each, while other firms such as Cosmax Inc rose 4.7 percent.

** The won was quoted at 1,128.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.14 percent firmer than its previous close at 1,130.1.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,128.25 per U.S. dollar, up 0.02 percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being transacted at 1,109.15 per dollar.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.31 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with losses. Japanese stocks rose 2.15 percent.

** The KOSPI is down around 16.8 percent so far this year, and down by 1.90 percent in the previous 30 days.

** The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 percent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won.

** The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index  was 439,402,000 shares and, of the total traded issues of 897, the number of advancing shares was 652.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 48,371 million won worth of shares.

** The U.S dollar has risen 5.8 percent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on April 2 2018 and low is 1,146.26 on Oct. 11.   ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.05 points to 109.17.

** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.9 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean treasury bond yielded 1.802 percent, higher than the previous day's 1.79 percent.