South Korean shares rise as acting president leads market stabilisation efforts

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares flat on first trading day of 2025 amid mixed data

• South Korean shares rose more than 1% on Friday, as the country’s finance minister, who was recently appointed acting president, remained committed to stabilising the country’s financial markets.

• The won strengthened after 12 straight sessions of losses, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 36.81 points, or 1.53%, at 2,436.16 as of 0051 GMT, after falling for five consecutive sessions.

• South Korea’s acting president Choi Sang-mok ordered financial agencies to deploy market-stabilising measures swiftly and boldly if volatility heightens and said he would continue to hold financial leaders’ meetings every week to review market conditions.

• Authorities are seeking to execute an unprecedented arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, evading a crowd of protesters but facing off with security forces inside his residence.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.94% and peer SK Hynix gained 4.21%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 3.18%.

• Automakers were mixed, with Hyundai Motor up 1.42% and sister automaker Kia Corp down 1.57%, ahead of monthly sales reports due later in the day.

• Search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 3.15% and 3.20%, respectively.

• Of the total 936 traded issues, 695 shares advanced, while 198 declined.

• Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 178.0 billion won ($121.5 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,466.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.19% higher than its previous close at 1,469.1.

• In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.02 point to 106.91.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 0.8 basis points to 2.501%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell 4.3 bps to 2.724%.