South Korea's KOSPI tops 3,000 for the first time since early 2022
SEOUL: South Korean shares rose above the 3,000 mark for the first time since January 2022 and were set to log their fourth weekly gain after newly-elected President Lee Jae Myung announced a stimulus spending plan. Expectations are that more such plans are potentially in the works. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
The benchmark KOSPI was up 25.02 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 3,002.76 as of 0155 GMT. For the week, the index is up 3.75 per cent.
South Korea's new administration proposed on Thursday US$14.7 billion of extra government spending to support sluggish domestic demand, as President Lee makes economic recovery his top policy agenda.
Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.51 per cent, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.85 per cent. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 2.58 per cent.
Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were unchanged and down 0.10 per cent, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings was flat, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 1.70 per cent.
Of the total 936 traded issues, 450 shares advanced, while 435 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth RM688,000.
The won was quoted at 1,371.1 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.63 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,379.8.
In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,371.4 per dollar, up 0.40 per cent on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,368.6.
The KOSPI has risen 25.14 per cent so far this year.
The won has strengthened 7.40 per cent against the dollar so far this year.
In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.01 point to 107.07.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 1.8 basis points to 2.49 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.8 basis points to 2.89 per cent.
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