South Korean shares track Wall Street higher; battery makers fall

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares rose on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains in Wall Street, but battery makers fell.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 8.80 points, or 0.34%, at 2,612.22 as of 0053 GMT. On Monday, the index fell 0.9%, weighed by a downgrade in US credit ratings.

• Wall Street ended slightly higher on Monday, even after Moody’s slashed the US sovereign credit rating on Friday after markets closed, citing the government’s $36 trillion outstanding debt and interest.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.81% and peer SK Hynix gained 2.93%, recouping losses recorded in the previous session.

• Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.60%, tracking a drop in US electric-vehicle maker Tesla. Peers Samsung SDI and SK Innovation also fell more than 3%.

• Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 0.26% and 0.11%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.81%, while drugmaker Samsung Biologics rose 0.10%.

• Of the total 930 traded issues, 589 shares advanced, while 287 declined.

• Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 10.3 billion won ($7.40 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,394.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.38% lower than its previous close at 1,388.7.

• In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.08 point to 107.57.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.6 basis points to 2.340%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.7 basis points to 2.712%.