Seoul: Stocks rise as Ukraine crisis lifts energy, shipbuilders
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[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended firmer on Wednesday (Mar 2), as surging commodity prices and potential demand for oil and gas carriers due to the worsening Russia-Ukraine crisis drove shares in the energy and shipbuilding sectors higher.
The Korean won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.
The benchmark Kospi closed up 4.34 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 2,703.52. The market was closed for trading on Tuesday due to a public holiday.
Major oil refiners S-Oil and SK Innovation gained 6.04 per cent and 3.49 per cent, respectively, while shipbuilders Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering soared 3.95 per cent, 3.85 per cent and 3.77 per cent, respectively.
US President Joe Biden assailed Russian President Vladimir Putin, barred Russian flights from American airspace and led Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a rare display of unity on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech dominated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
South Korea joined the Western countries on Tuesday to impose sanctions on Russian banks, by halting any financial transactions with 7 major Russia banks and strongly urging to suspend participation in trading Russian state bonds.
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Meanwhile, the Asian country posted a record of 219,241 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a sharp spike after the daily tally hovered around 170,000.
Separately, a private-sector survey showed South Korea's factory activity grew at the sharpest pace in 8 months in February, supported by strong overseas demand.
Foreigners were net sellers of 306.9 billion won (S$345.4 million) worth of shares on the main board.
The won ended at 1,206.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.32 per cent lower than its previous close.
In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,206.8, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,207.1.
In money and debt markets, March futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.24 point to 108.24.
The benchmark 10-year yield fell by 6.4 basis points to 2.611 per cent. REUTERS
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