South Korean shares close at near four-year high as Samsung Electronics jumps

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares recouped early losses to close at a near four-year high on Tuesday, led by gains in Samsung Electronics, while better-than-expected China data also lifted investor sentiment.

The benchmark KOSPI closed up 13.25 points, or 0.41%, at 3,215.28, its highest closing level since August 11, 2021. Earlier in the session, the index fell as much as 0.57%, weighed by profit-taking pressure.

Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.92%, after U.S. artificial intelligence darling Nvidia said it will resume sales of its H20 graphics processing units (GPU) to China with a new model that complies with regulatory requirements for the Chinese market.

Samsung is a major supplier for Nvidia’s H20 GPU.

China’s economy slowed less than expected in the second quarter in a show of resilience against U.S. tariffs, thoughanalysts warn that weak demand at home and rising global trade risks will ramp up pressure on Beijing to roll out morestimulus. China is South Korea’s biggest trading partner.

“The KOSPI turned positive as China’s data raised economic recovery hopes, despite technical resistance and profit-taking pressure,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

South Korean shares hit near 4-year high on market reform hopes

Among other index heavyweights, chipmaker SK Hynix lost 0.50%, while automakers dropped more than 2%. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.16%, and drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 1.06%.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 212.3 billion won ($153.79 million).

The won was quoted at 1,380.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.20% higher than its previous close at 1,383.0.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.7 basis point to 2.466%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.7 basis point to 2.880%.