South Korean shares rally for sixth day on Wall Street strength

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares rose for a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street’s overnight gains, to hit their highest level in nearly a month.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 18.74 points, or 0.58%, at 3,238.33 as of 0154 GMT, hitting its highest intraday level since August 12.

• The Nasdaq notched a record high close on Monday, lifted by a rally in Broadcom, while the S&P 500 also gained as investors bet the Federal Reserve will soon lower borrowing costs to shore up economic growth.

• “The domestic market is seen starting the session higher on a rebound in the US markets led by interest rate cut hopes and strength in artificial intelligence stocks,” said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.86%, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.26%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.31%.

• Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 0.46% and 0.10%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 1.43%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.29%.

• Of the total 927 traded issues, 515 shares advanced, while 349 declined.

• Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 74.4 billion won ($53.71 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,387.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.03% lower than its previous close at 1,387.0.

• In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.08 point to 107.32.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 2.7 basis points to 2.427%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.9 basis points to 2.812%.