Seoul: Shares gain as recovery hopes offset Covid-19 worries

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended higher on Thursday, as economic recovery hopes offset concerns of a global surge in Covid-19 infections and a possibility of some countries reintroducing lockdown measures. The won held steady, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The Seoul stock market's main Kospi closed up 9.02 points or 0.42 per cent at 2,167.90.

Another nationwide shutdown to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic would be "a big mistake", White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday as some states rolled back their re-openings amid a surge in cases.

The United States reported more than 60,000 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the biggest increase ever reported by a country in a single day, while global cases exceeded 12 million, according to a Reuters tally.

South Korea reported 50 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the national tally to 13,293.

Shares of companies with solid growth expectations rose sharply to send the index higher, said Lim Dong-min, an analyst at Kyobo Securities.

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Foreigners were net sellers of 33.10 billion won (S$38.6 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won closed trading unchanged at 1,195.5 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted down 0.3 per cent at 1,195.4 per US dollar, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,195.2.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.04 point to 112.05.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.1 basis point to 0.840 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 1.4 basis points to 1.392 per cent.

REUTERS