South Korean shares soar more than 6% as chipmakers rebound

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:  

South Korean shares climbed more than 6% on Thursday and were on track for their biggest daily gain in three weeks, underpinned by a sharp rebound in chipmaker stocks.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 407.48 points, or 6.30%, at 6,878.65 as of 0153 GMT.

The KOSPI closed nearly 6% lower in the previous session.

The index was likely to touch its biggest daily percentage gain since July 31, if the current momentum persists.

Early on Thursday, the rally triggered a “sidecar” trading curb designed to temper excessive market volatility.

Shares of SK Hynix rose 12.93%, after the chipmaker said it would buy back and cancel 40 trillion won ($28.69 billion) of treasury shares and allocate more than 50% of free cash flow generated between 2025 and 2027 to boost shareholder returns.

Peer Samsung Electronics surged almost 10%.

Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 2.38%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 2.42% and 0.53%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 2.19%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 1.68%.

Of the total 902 traded issues, 544 shares advanced, while 319 declined.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 524.5 billion won.

The won was quoted at 1,393.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.29% lower than its previous close at 1,389.1.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.04 point to 103.26.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 2.9 basis points to 3.815%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 8.8 basis points to 4.325%.