Seoul: Stocks end at record high as chip giants jump

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed at an all-time high on Thursday, led by chip heavyweights that tracked a record finish on the Nasdaq. The won strengthened and the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi closed up 9.91 points or 0.30 per cent at 3,286.10, logging a third straight day of gains.

Among heavyweights, chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 1.37 per cent and 1.61 per cent, respectively, while internet giant Naver and battery maker LG Chem slid 0.94 per cent and 0.48 per cent.

Foreigners were net sellers of 106.3 billion won (S$126.2 million) worth of shares on the main board.

"Kospi is on track for a gradual rise while investors continue to take a wait-and-see stance after the Federal Open Market Committee ... Next week's US jobs data will be closely watched," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.

Meanwhile, South Korea's central bank said it sees upward inflationary pressure on both demand and supply amid the country's recovery from the pandemic, reinforcing views it is shifting to a less accommodative policy.

The won ended at 1,134.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, up 0.25 per cent.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,134.7 per dollar, up 0.1 per cent, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,134.4.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.12 point to 110.18.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 4.3 basis points to 1.381 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.5 basis point to 2.046 per cent.

($1 = 1,134.1700 won) (Reporting by Joori Roh; Additional reporting by Jihoon Lee) Reuters 2021-06-24T07:10:53.000Z(VersionCreatedDate) 2021-06-24T071053Z-90395439-AZN21ZY00-RTRMADT-0-SOUTHKOREA-MARKETS-CLOSE-URGENT.txt CobotGuess-BANKINGFINANCE nnnn