Seoul: Shares end at record high as US resumes stimulus talks

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by US coronavirus stimulus hopes and vaccine rollouts, offsetting concerns over a record surge in local cases. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

At 6.30am GMT, the benchmark Kospi rose 14.97 points or 0.54 per cent to close at 2,771.79.

Top US congressional leaders started a second meeting on Tuesday to try to end a months-long standoff on coronavirus relief.

Investors also cheered the South Korean prime minister's pledge to secure more hospital beds to handle a record surge in coronavirus cases.

Hopes for additional US stimulus boosted shares but uncertainty over Federal Reserve policies kept gains in check, said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine appeared set for regulatory nod this week, after a US Food and Drug Administration staff endorsed it as safe and effective in documents released Tuesday.

Foreigners were net sellers of 44.1 billion won (S$53.7 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,094.0 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.06 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,093.3.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,094.4 per dollar, down 0.5 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,093.9.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.26 per cent.

The Kospi has risen 26.12 per cent so far this year, and gained 17.6 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.03 point to 111.47.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.3 basis point to 0.988 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 1.5 basis points to 1.687 per cent.

REUTERS