Seoul: Shares rise 1% to end week flat; won hits 1-month high

SOUTH Korean shares closed 1 per cent higher on Friday (May 27) as risk appetite improved with easing worries around a recession, but the benchmark index posted no gains or losses for the week. The won hit a 1-month high, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark Kospi closed up 25.60 points, or 0.98 per cent, at 2,638.05. For the week, it posted a marginal fall of 0.05 per cent.

Worries of an economic recession eased after upbeat earnings from US retail companies, while a surge in Nvidia and shares of China’s major platform companies aided tech stocks, said Daishin Securities’ analyst Lee Kyoung-min.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.9 per cent, with Nvidia gaining over 5 per cent. During Asian hours, Alibaba and Baidu surged on solid results.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.91 per cent, while peer SK Hynix jumped 2.91 per cent from a 7-month low. Battery maker LG Energy Solution closed unchanged.

Foreigners were net buyers of 189.3 billion won (S$206.7 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was last quoted 0.86 per cent higher on the onshore settlement platform, marking the fastest daily rise and highest close since Apr 29.

The currency ended the week 0.95 per cent higher, marking a second straight weekly gain.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,255.6 per dollar, up 0.4 per cent, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,255.8.

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In money and debt markets, June futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.03 point to 105.70 in late-afternoon trade.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.9 basis point to 2.946 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.4 basis points to 3.205 per cent. REUTERS