South Korea shares rebound but set for second weekly loss

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rose on Friday but were set to log a second weekly loss after heavy losses in global technology companies earlier in the week pulled Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix lower amid concerns that the AI-driven rally might have peaked.

The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 327.43 points, or 4.28%, at 7,975.52 as of 04:34 GMT. For the week, the index is down 4.95%.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 8.57% after media reports that Anthropic PBC is in talks with Samsung Electronics to be a manufacturing partner for a custom AI chip.

SK Hynix gained 7.18%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.14%.

Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 0.41% and up 3.17%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.47%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.28%.

Of the 912 issues traded, 406 shares advanced, while 471 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 1,501.9 billion won. The won was quoted at 1,544.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.28% lower than its previous close at 1,540.0.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,544.5 per dollar, down 0.3% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,543.2.

The KOSPI has risen 89.25% so far this year.

The won has weakened 6.8% against the dollar so far this year. In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.08 point to 103.11.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.5 basis points to 3.732%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.7 basis points to 4.173%.‑Reuters