South Korean shares hit four-year high on US trade deal hopes

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares climbed on Wednesday to their highest level in nearly four years, led by major exporters, as optimism grew around the country’s trade negotiations with the United States ahead of an August 1 deadline for higher tariffs.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 20.35 points, or 0.63%, at 3,250.92, as of 0215 GMT, hitting its highest level since August 2021.

• Three South Korean cabinet-level officials met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington in a push to close a trade deal, Seoul said on Wednesday, squaring off with a key U.S. official driving a hard bargain just ahead of the August 1 deadline.

• Among index heavyweights, Samsung Electronics rose 2.55%, after the chipmaker signed a $16.5 billion chip-supply deal with U.S. electric-vehicle maker Tesla earlier this week. Peer SK Hynix was flat.

• Battery maker LG Energy Solution was little changed, after a $4.3 billion contract to supply Tesla with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems. Peers Samsung SDI and SK Innovation jumped 7.54% and 6.28%, respectively.

• Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 1.61% and 2.37%, respectively.

• Of the total 935 traded issues, 535 shares advanced, while 343 declined.

• Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 155.2 billion won ($112.29 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,382.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.52% higher than its previous close at 1,389.7.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.9 basis point to 2.448%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 4.2 basis points to 2.790%.