South Korean shares close up after China unveils policy steps

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rose on Monday after China pledged more policy steps to revive consumption, and tracking gains on Wall Street. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark KOSPI closed up 44.33 points, or 1.73%, at 2,610.69.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 5.30% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.73%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.46%.

Investors are more hopeful about China’s domestic recovery and there is also a hope for a turnaround in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip prices which lifted up chip shares, said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

China’s State Council unveiled on Sunday what it called a “special action plan” to boost domestic consumption, featuring measures including increasing residents’ income and establishing a childcare subsidy scheme.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors hunted for bargains at the end of a tumultuous week in which U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war fueled recession fears and doused risk appetite.

South Korean stocks rise after soft US inflation data

Hyundai Motor added 0.25% and sister automaker Kia Corp lost 0.70%, while search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 1.44% and up 0.12%, respectively.

Of the total 944 traded issues, 530 shares advanced, while 358 declined.

The won was quoted at 1,448.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.29% higher than its previous close at 1,453.0.

The won has gained 1.6% against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.02 point to 106.67.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 1 basis point to 2.607%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 2.4 bps to 2.837%.