South Korea stocks climb ahead of Russia-Ukraine talks; bonds remain shaky

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rose on Tuesday, buoyed by prospects of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, while bonds got off to a shaky start. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark KOSPI rose 9.81 points, or 0.36%, to 2,739.37 as of 02:32 GMT.

Among the heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.43% and peer SK Hynix rose 0.42%, while LG Chem rose 0.38% and Naver rose 1.36%.

Overnight Wall Street gains lifted local shares, although narrowing spreads of long- and short-term yields suggests there might be an economic downturn, posing growth challenges, Mirae Asset Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

South Korea's sovereign bonds got off to a shaky start after crashing in the previous session, as investors bet the U.S. Federal Reserve will tighten policy rapidly enough to risk a sustained slowdown in growth.

Ukraine said it was hoping that the first face-to-face peace talks with Russia in over two weeks could lead to a ceasefire.

Foreigners were net sellers of 145.6 billion won ($119.28 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,220.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.52% higher than its previous close.

The KOSPI has fallen 8.00% so far this year, but lost 1.5% in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The KOSPI trading volume was 434.00 million shares. Of the total 927 traded issues, 489 advanced.

The won has lost 2.6% against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.24 points to 106.03.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 2.9 basis points to 2.713%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.5 bps to 3.003%.