South Korean shares end higher as chipmakers jump on AI relief

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares closed nearly 2% higher on Thursday, as chipmakers jumped following upbeat demand forecasts from Nvidia that eased investor worries around artificial intelligence stocks.

• The benchmark KOSPI closed up 75.34 points, or 1.92%, at 4,004.85, after two consecutive sessions of losses.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Wednesday shrugged off concerns about an AI bubble as the company surprised Wall Street with accelerating growth after several quarters of slowing sales.

• “Today’s gains in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix show the AI rally is yet to come to an end,” said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities.

• Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 4.25% and peer SK Hynix gained 1.60%, leading the benchmark index higher.

• Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.80%, but Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 0.76% and 0.96%, respectively.

• Of the total 928 traded issues, 751 shares advanced, while 141 declined.

• Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth 641.3 billion won ($436.79 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,467.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.04% higher than its previous close at 1,468.5.

• In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds slipped by 0.10 point to 105.81.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 2.8 basis points to 2.903%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 3.5 basis points to 3.320%.