South Korean shares jump 8% on Mideast peace hopes, set to end volatile week higher

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: 

South Korean shares jumped 8% on Friday, as Middle East peace hopes rose after US President Donald Trump said a deal could be reached with Iran as early as this weekend.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 620.10 points, or 7.99%, at 8,384.05, as of 0108 GMT.

The KOSPI has risen 2.6% this week, after falling 3.7% last week.

Trading has been volatile this week, with the benchmark stock index triggering “sidecar” trading curbs in four sessions, including on Friday, and activating circuit breakers earlier this week for the third time this year and the ninth in history.

Trump on Thursday said the United States and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. However, Iran said it had not reached a final decision on an agreement.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 12.21%, while peer SK Hynix gained 8.85%.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 6.11%. Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 6.03% and up 4.81%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 6.84%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 1.01%. Of the total 918 traded issues, 797 shares advanced, while 102 declined.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 979.4 billion won ($644.98 million).

The won was quoted at 1,518.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.90% higher than its previous close at 1,531.6.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.23 point to 103.30.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 7.3 basis points to 3.833%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 6.7 basis points to 4.223%.

‑Reuters