South Korea's KOSPI jumps 6% after Samsung reaches tentative deal with union

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares climbed more than 6% on Thursday as investors cheered Samsung Electronics’ tentative deal with its union on bonus payouts, averting a strike. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 476.46 points, or 6.61%, at 7,685.41, as of 0134 GMT.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 6.70%, while peer SK Hynix gained 9.34%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 3.25%.

Shares of Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 7.09% and 9.50%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 4.68%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 4.11%.

Samsung Electronics’ union said the planned 18-day strike by nearly 48,000 members would be suspended while the tentative 11th-hour deal is put to a vote between May 22 and May 27. The pay deal would potentially avert a strike that threatened to hit South Korea’s economy and global chip supply.

Lifting market sentiment, early data showed on Thursday that South Korea’s exports in the first 20 days of May jumped 64.8% from a year earlier.

South Korea will extend a fuel tax break by two months until the end of July, the Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday, citing the finance ministry.

Of the total 917 traded issues, 783 shares advanced, while 119 declined.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 451.7 billion won.

The won was quoted at 1,500.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.25% lower than its previous close at 1,496.7.

The KOSPI has risen 82.37% so far this year.

The won has weakened 4.1% against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.09 point to 103.27.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 2.5 basis points to 3.733%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 4.5 basis points to 4.153%.