Seoul: Stocks rise on tech rally; won steady

[SEOUL] South Korea's Kospi stock index rose more than one per cent on Thursday, while the Korean won held steady on the local platform and bond yields fell.

At 01:18 GMT, the Kospi was up 26.59 points or 1.09 per cent at 2,475.40.

The benchmark stock index was largely supported by tech shares, which rose after Samsung Electronics posted a record quarterly profit. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 2 per cent, while SK Hynix and LG Electronics gained 4.1 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

Upbeat economic growth for the first quarter also aided market sentiment. South Korea's economy grew 1.1 per cent last quarter, buoyed by healthy exports and a boost from government spending, while private consumption growth remained sluggish.

The won was quoted at 1,079.6 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.09 per cent firmer than its previous close at 1,080.6.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,080.3 per US dollar, up 0.08 per cent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being transacted at 1,063.45 per US dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.23 per cent, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild gains. Japanese stocks rose 0.64 per cent.

The Kospi is down around 0.8 per cent so far this year, and up by 1.5 per cent in the previous 30 days.

The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 per cent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won.

The trading volume during the session on the Kospi index was 154,261,000 shares and, of the total traded issues of 879, the number of advancing shares was 547.

Foreigners were net buyers of 47,457 million won worth of shares.

The US dollar has risen 1.3 per cent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per US dollar on April 2 and low is 1,098.4 on Feb 6.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.05 points to 107.63.

The Korean three-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.65 per cent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean treasury bond yielded 2.238 per cent, lower than the previous day's 2.25 per cent.

REUTERS