Seoul: Stocks post best day in over three months on tech boost

[SEOUL] South Korean shares posted their sharpest rise in more than three months on Tuesday, boosted by strong gains in technology stocks and tracking a rally on Wall Street. The won and the benchmark bond yield rose.

The Kospi closed up 48.09 points or 1.56 per cent at 3,138.30, logging its biggest gain since May 10. It had gained 0.97 per cent on Monday.

Among heavyweights, chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 3.14 per cent and 1.94 per cent, respectively, while internet giant Naver added 1.86 per cent.

Foreigners turned net buyers for the first time in 11 days, purchasing net 156.8 billion won (S$182.4 million) worth of shares on the main board.

All three major US stock indices ended higher overnight, with the Nasdaq reaching an all-time closing high after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, South Korea is expected to raise interest rates on Thursday, making it the first major central bank in Asia to do so in the pandemic era as surging household debt and home prices threaten financial stability.

"Kospi rose on hopes of economic reopening after the US FDA approval of Pfizer vaccine, easing worries about the Delta coronavirus variant, and on a surge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

The won ended at 1,165.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.69 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,173.7.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,165.3, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,165.4.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.11 point to 110.34.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 4.9 basis points to 1.437 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 4.9 basis points to 1.935 per cent.

REUTERS