South Korean shares hit over 7-week high on chip, battery boost
- South Korean shares rose more than 1% on Monday to hit their highest level in more than seven weeks
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares rose more than 1% on Monday to hit their highest level in more than seven weeks, led by gains in chip and battery makers, even as investors kept an eye on the Middle East conflict.
Benchmark KOSPI was up 71.33 points, or 1.15%, at 6,263.25 as of 0338 GMT, hitting its highest intraday level since February 26. Concerns are growing that the ceasefire between the US and Iran might not hold.
Tehran has vowed to retaliate after the US said that it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade.
SK Hynix gained 3.81%, after the chipmaker said it was set to begin mass production of Small Outline Compression Attached Memory Module2 (SOCAMM2) designed for use with Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips.
Peer Samsung Electronics rose 0.23%. Samsung SDI jumped 5.07% after a media report that the battery maker inked a deal with Mercedes.
Peer LG Energy Solution climbed 3.47%. Among other heavyweights, Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 1.30% and 0.06%, respectively, but steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 1.56%.
Of the total 907 traded issues, 425 shares advanced, while 434 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 242.3 billion won ($164.26 million).
The won was quoted at 1,475.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 1.06% lower than its previous close at 1,460.0.
In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.15 point to 104.37.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.7 basis points to 3.331%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.6 basis points to 3.674%.‑Reuters