Seoul: Shares extend gains as investors eye tight US election race

[SEOUL] South Korean shares rose on Wednesday, tracking US stock futures, after US President Donald Trump led Democratic rival Joe Biden in Florida and other major battleground states, though a final outcome may not be known for days.

The Korean won and the benchmark bond yield weakened.

The benchmark Kospi ended up 14.01 points or 0.6 per cent at 2,357.32, after rising as much as 1.2 per cent. The index extended its gains to a third straight session.

Betting market odds on the US presidential election have begun to tighten once again after flipping in favour of Republican President Donald Trump over Democratic candidate Joe Biden, according to data from three aggregators.

S&P emini futures were last up 0.9 per cent, extending a rally in Tuesday's overnight trading session, when the S&P 500 delivered its strongest one-day gain in almost a month.

Korean index heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 0.5 per cent, while the world's second-biggest memory chip maker SK Hynix jumped 2.2 per cent after posting a 175 per cent jump in operating profit in the July-September period.

Drugmaker Celltrion jumped 4.4 per cent, gaining for a third day, after signing a 210 billion won (S$252.2 million) supply contract to distribute its rapid Covid-19 testing kit Sampinute in the United States.

Foreigners were net sellers of 218.3 billion won worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,137.7 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.32 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,134.1.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,139.1 per dollar, down 0.7 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,138.8.

In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.10 point to 111.69.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 2.8 basis points to 0.954 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.9 basis points to 1.567 per cent.

REUTERS