South Korean shares start week higher on tech boost

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares bucked global equity weakness and started the week higher on Monday as technology stocks jumped on policy hopes.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 33.51 points, or 1.07%, at 3,152.92, as of 0145 GMT.

• Search engine Naver rose 3.33% and chat app Kakao jumped 6.31% amid hopes the government would announce policy measures to boost artificial intelligence technologies.

• A presidential spokesperson said after the KOSPI fell 3.9% on Friday it was unlikely the government’s tax hike proposals caused the drop.

• The ruling Democratic Party will have fresh discussions about the proposed measures, its leader said on Monday, according to local media reports.

• Among other index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.45%, while peer SK Hynix gained 0.29%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.40%.

• Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 0.24% and 1.88%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.34%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.58%.

• Of the total 934 traded issues, 734 shares advanced, while 161 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 23.7 billion won ($17.12 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,384.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.30% higher than its previous close at 1,388.3.

• In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.23 point to 107.43.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 7.3 basis points to 2.403%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell 6.9 bps to 2.769%.