South Korea's KOSPI takes a breather from new peak

Round-up of South Korean financial markets: South Korean shares were mixed on Thursday, taking a breather after breaching the historic 7,500-mark for the first time at the open.

The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 3.02 points, or 0.04%, at 7,387.58 as of 01:53 GMT, after rising as high as 7,532.88 earlier in the day.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.38%, while peer SK Hynix lost 0.06%.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.66%.

Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 4.64% and up 2.65%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 2.77%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.07%.

Citi Research on Thursday upgraded its Kospi target to 8,500 from 7,000 previously, reflecting solid memory earnings upside as well as strong fiscal stimulus with the Korean government’s push for corporate value enhancement.

Of the total 895 traded issues, 376 shares advanced, while 485 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 4,033.2 billion won ($2.78 billion). The won was quoted at 1,449.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.03% lower than its previous close at 1,449.4.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,448.7 per dollar, down 0.3% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,447.1.

The KOSPI has risen 75.30% so far this year.

The won has weakened 0.7% against the dollar so far this year. In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.22 point to 103.80.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 6.0 basis points to 3.534%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 5.7 basis points to 3.878%. ‑Reuters