South Korean stocks rise, tracking Wall Street gains

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean stocks climb on regulator’s plan to protect minority shareholders

• South Korean shares rose on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the S&P 500 notched another record closing. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 30.72 points, or 1.25%, at 2,485.20 as of 01:12 GMT.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.56% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.50%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.40%.

• Hyundai Motor shed 0.46%, while sister automaker Kia gained 0.96%. Search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 2.21% and 0.47%, respectively.

• South Korea’s consumer inflation came in weaker than expected in November and below the central bank’s target, as analysts see more rate cuts in the year ahead.

• Of the total 934 traded issues, 665 shares advanced, while 205 declined.

• Foreigners net bought shares worth 150.2 billion won ($107 million) on the main board.

• The won was quoted at 1,402.3 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.04% lower than its previous close at 1,401.7.

• In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,399.7 per dollar, up 0.3% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,397.3.

• The KOSPI has fallen 6.41% so far this year, losing 5.8% in the last 30 trading sessions.

• The won has lost 8.2% against the dollar so far this year. ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.04 point to 106.98.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 0.3 basis points to 2.552%, while the benchmark 10-year yield dropped 4.5 basis points to 2.673%.