South Korean shares rise on Nvidia chip boost; BOK in focus
- The benchmark KOSPI was up 83.00 points
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares rose on Thursday, led by gains in chipmakers on strong demand forecasts by US peer Nvidia, while investor focus was on the central bank governor’s news conference after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates.
The benchmark KOSPI was up 83.00 points, or 1.22%, at 6,894.25 as of 0104 GMT. Earlier in the session, it rose as much as 2.8% to hit the highest intraday level since August 18.
Nvidia on Wednesday forecast a 70% jump in revenue next fiscal year, underscoring unabated demand for AI computing, while warning that shortages of memory components would continue to curb how quickly it can expand.
The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.00%, as expected, delivering a second straight increase as inflation stays above target and financial stability risks persist.
It also revised up this year’s growth estimate to 3.3% from the 2.6% projected in July.
Governor Shin Hyun-song will hold a press conference at 0210 GMT.
Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.43%, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.37%.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 3.42%.
Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 1.96% and down 1.52%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 3.20%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.50%.
Of the total 905 traded issues, 352 shares advanced, while 501 declined. Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 73.3 billion won ($53.21 million).
The won was quoted at 1,377.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.63% higher than its previous close at 1,386.3. In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.11 point to 103.21.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 3.7 basis points to 3.854%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 3.9 basis points to 4.311%.‑Reuters