South Korean shares hit near 9-month high on Wall Street boost

Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares on Wednesday hit a near nine-month high, boosted by Wall Street’s overnight rally after the US delayed tariffs on the European Union.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 43.92 points, or 1.67%, at 2,681.14, as of 0202 GMT. The index rose as much as 2% to its highest intraday level since September 3 earlier in the session.

• Wall Street surged on Tuesday as investor risk appetite was buoyed by US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff respite and an unexpected jump in consumer confidence.

• Trump paused his threatened tariffs until July 9 on US imports of European goods following a weekend call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

• The Bank of Korea is expected to lower its key policy rate by 25 basis points on Thursday as economic activity contracted in the last quarter and benign inflation supports the case for easing, according to a Reuters poll.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 3.25%, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.72%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 2.94%.

• Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 1.92% and up 0.91%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 4.43%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.34%.

• Of the total 933 traded issues, 643 shares advanced, while 247 declined.

• Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 186.6 billion won ($135.72 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,375.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.05% higher than its previous close at 1,376.5.

• In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.03 point to 107.60.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 2.0 basis points to 2.321%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.0 bps to 2.703%.