SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares crossed the 6,500 level for the first time on Thursday, as SK Hynix’s record earnings bolstered investor sentiment amid uncertainties surrounding the US-Iran peace talks.
The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
The benchmark KOSPI was up 111.63 points, or 1.78%, at 6,532.24, as of 0116 GMT, extending its year-to-date gain to 55%.
SK Hynix posted a more than five-fold jump in first-quarter operating profit to a record high, as the artificial intelligence boom drove strong demand for both advanced and conventional memory chip products. Its shares gained 0.82%.
Among other index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 5.29%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.20%.
Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 0.55% and up 1.19%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.60%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.77%.
South Korea’s economy beat expectations in the first quarter of 2026 to record the fastest growth since mid-2020, as booming semiconductor demand offset the drag of weak public spending, central bank data showed.
Of the total 905 traded issues, 304 shares advanced, while 542 declined.
Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 502.4 billion won.
The won was quoted at 1,478.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.14% higher than its previous close at 1,480.3.
The won has weakened 2.6% against the dollar so far this year.
In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.23 point to 104.04.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 7.6 basis points to 3.443%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 7.5 basis points to
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