South Korean shares rebound more than 8% as chipmakers jump

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rebounded sharply on Tuesday, recovering after the previous session’s steep losses, as investors snapped up beaten-down technology stocks following the market’s sharpest one-day decline in three months.

The benchmark KOSPI closed up 612.52 points, or 8.18%, at 8,096.93, marking its biggest one-day percentage gain since May 21. In the previous session, the index slipped 8.3% to its biggest decline since early March.

In early hours on Tuesday, the index triggered a “sidecar” trading curb designed to temper excessive market volatility, but extended gains in afternoon trade.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 8.97% and peer SK Hynix gained 15.91%, mirroring gains on Wall Street where chipmakers surged overnight on bargain-hunting demand to send the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index 5.6% higher.

“Chipmaker stocks were supported by dip-buying after a short-term drop,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Risk sentiment also improved after stronger-than-expected first-quarter economic growth data highlighted the resilience of South Korea’s export-driven economy despite ongoing global trade and growth concerns.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 2.06%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were unchanged and up 8.52%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 1.53%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 4.26%.

Of the total 922 traded issues, 774 shares advanced, while 133 declined.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 2 trillion won ($1.32 billion).

The won was quoted at 1,512.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.95% higher than its previous close at 1,526.5.

South Korea will respond sternly to speculative trading and market-disturbing behaviour in the onshore currency market, a senior finance official said.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 8.4 basis points to 3.850%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 9.1 basis points to 4.260%.