South Korean shares surge on US rally, strong GDP

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rose more than 4% on Tuesday, led by gains in chipmakers on a rally in US AI stocks and strong economic growth data. The benchmark KOSPI was up 240.38 points, or 4.39%, at 5,709.85, as of 0153 GMT.

US stocks closed higher on Monday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising more than 2%, as Anthropic’s IPO filing helped boost sentiment in AI-related stocks.

South Korea’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter as a global AI chip boom boosted exports and investments, advance central bank estimates showed.

Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 5.05%, while peer SK Hynix gained 7.14%.

Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 3.73%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 1.91% and up 1.33%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 3.15%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 4.89%.

Of the total 910 traded issues, 695 shares advanced, while 187 declined. Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 597.3 billion won ($450.57 million).

The won was quoted at 1,325.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.08% higher than its previous close at 1,326.0.

In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds were unchanged at 103.25.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.4 basis point to 3.792%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.7 basis points to 4.068%. ‑Reuters