South Korea shares rise, tracking Wall Street’s gains

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

• South Korean shares climbed on Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid expectations that US President Donald Trump may soon announce a Federal Reserve chair who favours lower interest rates.
• The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.
• The blue-chip KOSPI index added 43.19 points, or 1.08%, to 4,038.12 as of 01:25 GMT.
• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.55%, while peer SK Hynix lost 0.18%.
• Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.2%. Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia advanced 0.19% and 1.11%, respectively.
• Steelmaker POSCO Holdings and drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.24% each. On Tuesday, Trump said a potential Federal Reserve chair was present as he introduced White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett at a White House meeting.
• South Korea’s economy expanded by 1.3% in the third quarter, revised central bank data showed on Wednesday, faster than the bank’s earlier estimate of 1.2%.
• Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 7.1 billion won ($4.8 million). Year-to-date, the KOSPI has risen 68.29% and the won has strengthened 0.3% against the dollar.
• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 0.3 basis points to 3.028%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell 0.9 basis points to 3.341%.