South Korean shares flat as auto gains counter battery losses

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean stocks close higher, tracking Wall Street’s overnight rally

• South Korean shares were flat on Thursday after a four-session winning run, as gains in automakers countered losses in battery manufacturers.

• The benchmark KOSPI was down 1.60 points, or 0.06%, at 2,519.45, as of 0102 GMT. In morning trade, the KOSPI moved between a fall of 0.2% and a gain of 0.3%.

• Hyundai Motor climbed 0.94% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 2.48%, after the group announced a plan to invest a record 24.3 trillion won ($16.67 billion) in the home country this year.

• Chipmaker SK Hynix gained 3.49%, after business discussions with customer Nvidia. The chairman of the SK Group said the pace of developing high-end chips was speeding up.

• Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.75%, tracking overnight losses in US battery stocks. Peers Samsung SDI and SK Innovation fell 3.35% and 2.20%, respectively.

• Battery materials makers LG Chem and POSCO Holdings lost 2.53% and 1.33%, respectively.

• Of the total 939 traded issues, 309 shares advanced, while 560 declined.

• Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 179.5 billion won.

• The won was quoted at 1,458.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.10% higher than its previous close at 1,459.6.

• In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.03 point to 106.96.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.4 basis points to 2.494%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.0 basis points to 2.780%.