Seoul: Stocks gain for fourth day, but Omicron weighs

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended higher for a fourth straight session on Monday (Dec 6), as foreign buying of chip shares offset the hit from worries around the Omicron coronavirus variant. Both the won and the benchmark bond yield fell.

The KOSPI closed up 4.92 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 2,973.25, with investors refraining from making big bets ahead of key US inflation data.

Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix gained 0.93 per cent and 0.42 per cent, respectively, while Samsung SDI added 0.87 per cent.

On the main board, foreigners were net buyers of 58.2 billion won (S$67.4 million) worth of shares.

As Omicron emerged in more countries, South Korea, which has confirmed 24 cases of the variant so far, imposed stricter measures to contain the outbreak.

Meanwhile, US jobs data suggested an earlier-than-expected tapering by the Federal Reserve when they meet later this month, with the focus now shifting to the consumer price report due on Friday (Dec 10).

The won ended at 1,183.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.25 per cent lower than its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,182.5 per dollar, down 0.2 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,182.8.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.09 point to 108.95.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.1 basis points to 1.870 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 1.5 basis points to 2.218 per cent.

REUTERS