South Korean shares rise as automakers jump on tariff exemption hope; drugmakers fall

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rise on easing tariff woes; won hits 4-month high

• South Korean shares rose for a second straight session on Tuesday, as automakers jumped after US President Trump suggested changes in car tariffs, while drugmakers fell.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 10.64 points, or 0.43%, at 2,466.53 as of 0052 GMT.

• Hyundai Motor rose 3.01% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 3.31%, after Trump on Monday suggested he might grant exemptions on auto-related levies already in place.

• But, Samsung Biologics and biopharmaceutical peer Celltrion fell more than 1% each. Trump also said that he expects to impose tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals in the not-too-distant future.

• Among other index heavyweights, steelmakers rose, while chipmakers, battery makers and e-commerce firms changed by less than 1% in either direction.

• The Bank of Korea will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 2.75% on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll of economists who expect the central bank to resume reductions in May.

• South Korea will draw up an extra budget of 12 trillion won ($8.45 billion), the finance minister said, up from the previous proposal of 10 trillion won.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 31.1 billion won ($21.81 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,424.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.16% lower than its previous close at 1,422.5.

• In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.04 point to 107.46.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.3 basis points to 2.403%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.7 basis points to 2.671%.