Seoul: Stocks end at 3-week high on strong foreign buying in chip sector

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended at a near three-week high on Wednesday, driven by strong foreign inflows into chip heavyweights, offsetting worries about rising cases of corovirus' Delta variant.

The Kospi ended up 43.24 points, or 1.34 per cent, at 3,280.38, its highest closing since July 15 and extending gains to a third straight session.

Foreigners bought net US$799.58 million worth of shares on the main Kospi board, the largest daily amount since March 11.

On Tuesday, they purchased net 689.6 billion won (S$813.4 million) worth of shares in chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, Korea Exchange data showed.

Samsung Electronics jumped 1.84 per cent, while peer SK Hynix added 0.83 per cent. Internet giant Naver and messenger app operator Kakao also soared 1.17 per cent and 3.82 per cent, respectively.

South Korea posted a sharp increase in its coronavirus cases on Wednesday, nearing the record daily infections marked last week, as it struggled to tame its fourth wave of coronavirus.

Most of the Bank of Korea's seven board members said policy tightening is needed to put a brake on the country's red-hot property market, minutes of a July 15 board meeting showed, raising the odds of a rate hike.

REUTERS