Seoul: Shares hit 5-week closing high as battery makers rally

SOUTH Korean shares jumped on Thursday (Oct 27) to their highest close in more than a month, buoyed by hopes of slower monetary policy tightening by global central banks and robust earnings from battery makers.

The Korean won hit its highest in nearly three weeks, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark KOSPI rose 39.22 points, or 1.74 per cent, to close at 2,288.78, the highest since Sep 23.

The Bank of Canada announced a smaller-than-expected interest rate hike on Wednesday and said it was getting closer to the end of its historic tightening campaign.

“Hopes for a slowdown in interest rate hikes remained intact, supporting investor sentiment in the local market despite US big tech companies’ weak earnings,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Gains were led by battery makers following upbeat third-quarter results. LG Energy Solution rose 2.08 per cent, while Samsung SDI and SK Innovation jumped 7.39 per cent and 10.39 per cent, respectively.

Samsung Electronics rose marginally even after the chipmaker reported a 31 per cent drop in third-quarter profit and said geopolitical uncertainties were likely to dampen demand until early 2023.

Its decision not to cut production, meanwhile, sent SK Hynix, a smaller rival, down 4.15 per cent in its worst session since mid-June.

Samsung C&T jumped 6.25 per cent in its biggest daily gain since late-April, after Samsung Electronics’ de facto leader Jay Y. Lee was named executive chairman.

Foreigners purchased a net 380.7 billion won (S$377.4 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won ended 0.68 per cent higher at 1,417.0 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, after hitting its highest since Oct 7 at 1,412.6.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 1.9 basis points to 4.208 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 1.5 basis points to 4.270 per cent. REUTERS