South Korean shares rise as chipmakers jump

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:   South Korean shares rose on Wednesday, extending gains for a third straight session, as chipmakers jumped on AI optimism.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 219.73 points, or 3.46%, at 6,565.26, as of 0155 GMT, hitting its highest level since August 5.

Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, with Amazon and Alphabet dipping, as investors became more pessimistic about a potential deal to bring stability to the Middle East, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.9%.

“Flows into semiconductor and domestic AI-related stocks are seen improving on robust AI infrastructure demand proven by Coreweave and Supermicro,” said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 6.16%, while peer SK Hynix gained 3.86%.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 2.54%. Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 1.99% and 1.86%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 0.15%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.81%. Of the total 910 traded issues, 468 shares advanced, while 402 declined.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 899.6 billion won ($635.65 million).

The won was quoted at 1,414.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.11% lower than its previous close at 1,413.0.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.02 point to 103.23.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield was flat at 3.802%, while the benchmark 10-year yield was flat at 4.303%.‑Reuters