Seoul: Stocks end at 3-week high on chip demand boost

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed on Monday (Nov 22) at their highest level in 3 weeks, as chip heavyweights tracked US peers higher amid a brightening outlook for memory chip demand. The won ended nearly flat, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

Lifting risk appetite further was data that showed South Korean exports for the first 20 days of November had jumped 27.6 per cent year-on-year on a continuing sales boost in semiconductor and petroleum products.

The Kospi ended up 42.23 points or 1.42 per cent at 3,013.25, the highest close since Nov 2.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics jumped as much as 5.62 per cent to a 7-week high, while its peer SK Hynix also soared to a 15-week peak, on optimism over chip demand and infrastructure investments in 2022.

Foreign investors bought net 796.4 billion won (S$913.7 million) worth of shares, while the foreign net buying into Samsung and SK Hynix took up nearly 92.6 per cent of all in early trade.

Among other heavyweights, platform company Naver and automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.49 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively.

Trade is likely to be thinned this week by Thanksgiving in the United States, but traders are closely monitoring Covid-19 cases in Europe and central bank developments.

Central banks in South Korea and New Zealand are expected to hike their rates this week.

The won ended at 1,185.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, nearly flat from its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,185.4, up 0.1 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,185.9.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 4.1 basis points to 2.005 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield climbed 0.1 basis point to 2.372 per cent.

REUTERS