South Korean shares rose for a third straight session on Wednesday, led by gains in automakers amid efforts to expedite the implementation of a trade deal with the US.
The benchmark KOSPI was up 34.25 points, or 0.65%, at 5,335.94, as of 0201 GMT.
South Korea will set up a committee to conduct preliminary reviews of US investment projects as it seeks to speed up the implementation of a $350 billion investment package pledged under a trade deal with Washington, officials said on Tuesday.
South Korea’s exports in the first 10 days of this month rose 44.4% from a year earlier, data showed.
Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 3.64% and up 3.36%, respectively, leading gains among major index heavyweights. Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.12%, while peer SK Hynix fell 1.26%.
The two firms plan to start building data centres in South Korea with US artificial intelligence firm OpenAI from March.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution was flat, while steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.27%.
Drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.64%. Of the total 927 traded issues, 458 shares advanced, while 417 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 276.5 billion won ($189.92 million).
The won was quoted at 1,456.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.08% higher than its previous close at 1,457.2.
In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.13 point to 105.00.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.2 basis points to 3.195%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 6.8 basis points to 3.640%.‑Reuters
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