off-the-wire

South Korean shares set for biggest quarterly gain in more than two years

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters



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KOSPI rises 1%, foreigners net buyers

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Korean won strengthens against dollar

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South Korea benchmark bond yield rises


SEOUL, March 31 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:


** South Korean shares rose 1% on Friday, helped by Wall Street's strength overnight, and were set for their biggest quarterly gain in more than two years. The Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI rose 25.56 points, or 1.04%, to 2,478.72, as of 0156 GMT, hitting its highest since mid-February and extending gains to a fourth session.


** The KOSPI has risen 2.6% so far in the week and 2.7% in the month. It has added 10.8% so far in the quarter, heading for its best quarter since the last quarter of 2020.
** "Chipmakers, automakers and IT stocks led the gains," said analyst Park Kwang-nam at Mirae Asset Securities.


** Technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 1.11% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.11%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution declined 0.17%.
** Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp rose 1.1% and 1.64%, respectively, while steelmaker POSCO Holdings jumped 12.08%.
** Of the total 936 issues traded, 500 shares rose.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 111.1 billion won ($86.04 million).


** The won was quoted at 1,294.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 0.33% higher than its previous close at 1,299.0.


** The currency was up 0.2% for the week and 2.4% for the month, but down 2.1% for the quarter.
** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.09 point to 104.97.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 2.0 basis points to 3.260%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 2.3 basis points to 3.326%. ($1 = 1,291.2800 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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