South Korean shares extend gains for sixth session as China stocks shine

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean stocks climb on AI optimism

• South Korean shares extended gains for a sixth straight session on Tuesday as shares in China, South Korea’s biggest trading partner, rose on expectations that a meeting between President Xi Jinping and head of big companies will boost shares of those companies.

• The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 14.10 points, or 0.54%, at 2,624.52 as of 0422 GMT.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 2.14% and peer SK Hynix lost 0.94%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.27%.

• Hyundai Motor added 0.35% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 0.11%, while search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 0.23% and up 0.26%, respectively.

• China revealed support for private sector, with the Hang Seng Index rising 2.05%.

• Of the total 939 traded issues in South Korea, 421 shares advanced, while 460 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 149.7 billion won ($103.69 million) on the main board on Tuesday.

• The won was quoted at 1,443.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.09% lower than its previous close at 1,442.0.

• In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,443.5 per dollar, down 0.2% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,441.1.

• The KOSPI has risen 9.38% so far this year, and gained 8.6% in the previous 30 trading sessions.

• The won has gained 2% against the dollar so far this year.

• In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.04 point to 106.61.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 1 basis point to 2.635%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 3.4 basis points to 2.872%.