Seoul: Stocks rebound on tech boost, easing China property woes

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended higher on Tuesday (Oct 19), boosted by tech heavyweights that tracked Nasdaq's gains and easing concerns over China's property sector. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark Kospi closed 22.36 points or 0.74 per cent higher at 3,029.04, rebounding from a 0.28 per cent fall on Monday and marking the fourth gain in 5 sessions.

Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix gained 0.57 per cent and 0.62 per cent, respectively, while platform companies Naver and Kakao added 2.77 per cent and 4.94 per cent each.

Battery maker Samsung SDI also soared 3.12 per cent after reports that the company agreed with global automaker Stellantis to jointly produce electric vehicle batteries for the North American market.

Foreigners were net buyers of 146.4 billion won (S$167 million) worth of shares on the main board.

China Evergrande Group's main unit has remitted funds to pay an onshore bond coupon due on Tuesday, while a couple of other property firms made coupon payments this week, helping ease some concerns about the embattled and indebted sector.

Capping the gains were rising oil prices that recouped earlier losses, as falling temperatures in China revived concerns about its ability to meet heating demand needs amid power and coal shortages.

The won ended at 1,178.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.76 per cent higher than its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,178.4 per dollar, up 0.6 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,178.9.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.07 point to 108.62.

The benchmark 10-year yield fell by 1.9 basis points to 2.380 per cent.

REUTERS