South Korean shares end week sharply higher on decade-high foreign buying

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares posted their best week in more than a year, as foreign inflows jumped to a decade high amid optimism around the government’s push to improve corporate practices regarding shareholder value.

The benchmark KOSPI closed up 72.85 points, or 2.87%, at 2,615.31 on Friday, marking the biggest daily gain since Nov. 6, 2023.

For the week, the KOSPI rose 5.52%, its sharpest since mid-November 2022.

“The local market outperformed the broader Asian market with foreign flows reflecting hopes around government-led plans for improving undervalued stocks,” said Seo Jung-hun, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

The KOSPI rose 1.82% on Thursday on the finance minister’s comments that the government would make policy efforts to improve practices regarding corporate governance and shareholder returns, and address unfair market practices in short-selling.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 1.89 trillion won ($1.43 billion) for the day on the main board.

South Korean shares climb to two-week high on foreign buying

Foreigners scooped up 3.55 trillion won this week, posting their biggest weekly buying since mid-September 2013.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 2.17% and peer SK Hynix gained 1.66%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.57%.

Hyundai Motor added 9.13% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 12.42%, while search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 9.38% and 6.83%, respectively.

Of the total 938 traded issues, 713 shares advanced, while 182 declined.

The won ended onshore trade 0.70% higher at 1,322.6 per dollar, posting its biggest gain since Dec. 14.

The won strengthened by 1.04% this week, the sharpest in five weeks.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.8 basis points to 3.248%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 4.8 basis points to 3.291%.