SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares edge slightly higher ahead of Nvidia earnings
South Korean shares rose on Friday on pledges by major conglomerates to return more to shareholders and posted their best weekly performance in three months.
The benchmark KOSPI closed up 20.61 points, or 0.83%, at 2,501.24.
The KOSPI rose 3.5% this week, the biggest since mid-August, after a drop of 5.6% last week.
South Korea has been pushing for corporate reforms this year, with the so-called “Corporate Value-up Programme” aimed at boosting the value of listed companies through improvements in shareholder returns.
The chairman of the Financial Services Commission has urged participation by big conglomerates.
“Samsung’s buyback plan is being followed by other major companies,” said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
SK Square rose 8.8% after the holding company of SK Hynix, a maker of artificial intelligence chips, announced a share buyback plan on Thursday. SK Hynix rose 4.7%.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 1.1% and battery materials maker LG Chem added 1.2%, while beauty product maker LG Household & Healthcare jumped 3.7%.
They also announced measures, including share buyback and cancellation, as well as revenue targets, in regulatory filings submitted on Friday.
Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 0.7%, but gained 4.7% for the week after a surprise buyback unveiled last week.
** South Korea is considering drawing up a supplementary budget early next year to counter slumping consumer spending and slowing economic growth, according to a report.
Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 116.9 billion won ($83.40 million), after 10 straight sessions of selling.
The won was quoted at 1,401.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, little changed from its previous close at 1,402.0.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.5 basis points to 2.814%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.0 basis points to 2.972%.
American Dollar Exchange Rate