South Korea shares extend rally as chips rise on Nvidia optimism

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rose on Tuesday as semiconductor shares led gains after Nvidia flagged that its new artificial intelligence chips were being manufactured by Samsung Electronics.

The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 151.70 points, or 2.73%, at 5,701.55 as of 02:01 GMT.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 4.29%, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.57%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 2.05%.

Shares of Samsung Electronics rose as much as 5% on Tuesday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said its new artificial intelligence chips were being manufactured by the South Korean company.

Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 4.94% and up 3.95%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 2.85%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 1.91%.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that no formal request has yet been made to South Korea’s military concerning sending troops or naval ships to the Strait of Hormuz.

Of the total 924 traded issues, 666 shares advanced, while 218 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 56.9 billion won ($38.14 million).

The won was quoted at 1,492.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.02% lower than its previous close at 1,491.9.

The KOSPI has risen 35.29% so far this year. The won has weakened 3.5% against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.06 point to 104.89.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 1.8 basis points to 3.291%, while the benchmark 10-year yield slipped 3.7 bps to 3.674%. ‑Reuters