South Korean shares rally after two-day rout, won eases from 10-week high
- The benchmark KOSPI was up 158.82 points, or 2.44%, at 6,675.09 as of 0129 GMT after losing 10.5% in the prior two sessions
Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares rebounded on Tuesday after a two-day rout, helped by gains in chip stocks, while the won eased from a 10-week high against the dollar.
The benchmark KOSPI was up 158.82 points, or 2.44%, at 6,675.09 as of 0129 GMT after losing 10.5% in the prior two sessions.
It has shed over a quarter of its value since its record close on June 22.
“The KOSPI’s correction was mainly led by foreign equity investors’ selloff in terms of rebalancing and profit-taking,” Citi analysts said in a note.
“However, we believe foreign equity investors’ selloff is moderating amid emerging signs of buy-on-dip capital flow.”
They said the KOSPI was trading at record-low valuations and presented a buying opportunity.
SK Hynix, the world’s leading AI memory chipmaker, gained 3.1%, while rival Samsung Electronics rose 5.02%.
The two stocks make up more than half of the KOSPI benchmark.
Overnight, the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index ended 0.6% higher after losing 8% in the prior three sessions.
Market participants are keenly awaiting US semiconductor and semiconductor equipment second-quarter earnings this week.
Hyundai Motor fell 1.4%, while sister automaker Kia Corp rose 0.8%. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 1.32%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 2.38%.
Of the total 908 traded issues, 251 shares advanced, while 620 declined. Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 63.7 billion won. The won was last quoted at 1,478.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, slightly below 1,475.5 - the highest since May 12.
In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,479.7 per dollar, down 0.3% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,478.7.
In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year Treasury bonds gained 0.03 point to 102.79.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield was flat at 3.895%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 2.6 basis points to 4.361%.
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