Seoul: Shares post one-month closing high on Samsung gains, foreign buying

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended on a one-month high on Monday, helped by sharp gains in Samsung Electronics and strong foreign buying, while easing of social distancing curbs in Seoul also aided sentiment.

The benchmark Kospi ended 31.22 points or 1.30 per cent up at 2,427.91, the highest close since Aug 13.

"There are foreign investor inflows in the semiconductor sector on expectations of improved business conditions ... Eased social distancing measures, apart from gains in semiconductor shares, seem to have lifted hopes of economic normalisation," said Kang Jae-hyun, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities.

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest memory chip maker, led gains on the Kospi after jumping as much as 3.1 per cent to a near seven-month high on analysts' expectations for robust third-quarter earnings.

Its peer SK Hynix closed up 2 per cent, while the country's No 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor surged near 5 per cent.

Foreigners were net buyers of 142.8 billion won (S$164.4 million) worth of shares on the main board.

South Korea reported 109 new coronavirus cases as of Sunday midnight, smaller than 121 a day earlier, after the government eased its tough social distancing policy for the next two weeks in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The won ended trading at 1,183.5 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.29 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,186.9.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,183.7 per dollar, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,183.6.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.05 point to 111.88.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.4 basis point to 0.920 per cent in the afternoon trade, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.2 basis points to 1.507 per cent.

REUTERS