South Korean stocks rise, tracking Wall Street gains

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean stocks climb on regulator’s plan to protect minority shareholders

South Korean shares rose on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the S&P 500 notched another record closing. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 30.72 points, or 1.25%, at 2,485.20 as of 01:12 GMT.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.56% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.50%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.40%.

Hyundai Motor shed 0.46%, while sister automaker Kia gained 0.96%. Search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 2.21% and 0.47%, respectively.

South Korea’s consumer inflation came in weaker than expected in November and below the central bank’s target, as analysts see more rate cuts in the year ahead.

Of the total 934 traded issues, 665 shares advanced, while 205 declined.

Foreigners net bought shares worth 150.2 billion won ($107 million) on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,402.3 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.04% lower than its previous close at 1,401.7.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,399.7 per dollar, up 0.3% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,397.3.

The KOSPI has fallen 6.41% so far this year, losing 5.8% in the last 30 trading sessions.

The won has lost 8.2% against the dollar so far this year. ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.04 point to 106.98.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 0.3 basis points to 2.552%, while the benchmark 10-year yield dropped 4.5 basis points to 2.673%.