Seoul: Shares scale two-year high on recovery, US stimulus hopes

[SEOUL] South Korean shares rose for a seventh straight session on Tuesday to a more than two-year high, as strong gains in market heavyweights and hopes for US stimulus helped investors shrug off weak domestic exports data.

The benchmark Kospi closed up 32.29 points, or 1.35 per cent, at 2,418.67, its highest close since June 14, 2018.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in an interview with CNBC on Monday, said the Trump administration and Congress could reach an agreement as soon as this week if Democrats are "reasonable."

South Korea will take the smallest hit to growth of any advanced economy this year, with a 0.8 per cent contraction, after it was able to limit the spread of the coronavirus without imposing severe lockdowns, the OECD said on Tuesday.

But worries about global demand persist as data showed on Tuesday that the export-reliant economy's exports contracted 23.6 per cent from last year in the first 10 days of August, while imports declined 24.3 per cent.

Foreigners were net buyers of US$122.97 million worth of shares on the main board.

REUTERS