S.Korean stocks gain as U.S. election results point to higher bar for regulations
* KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
* Korean won strengthens against U.S. dollar
* South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares rose towards a three-week high on Thursday, led by alternative energy and technology shares, as a clear Democratic sweep in the U.S. election failed to materialize and reduced likelihood of more regulations in the IT sector. The Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell. ** By 01:45 GMT, the benchmark KOSPI rose 34.70 points, or 1.47%, to 2,392.02.
** Solar cell manufacturer Hanwha Solutions up 9.6%, while steel structure maker Dongkuk Structures & Construction gains 11%, as investors see those shares stand to benefit from Democrat Joe Biden’s green energy proposals. ** Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped 1.9% while SK Hynix is up 2.5%
** A Biden win and a Republican senate would signal a gridlock but shares are rising as overall uncertainties are slowly easing, and it’s a good news to IT shares as it could mean less regulations, says Choi Yoo-june, an analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities. ** Foreigners were net buyers of 347.4 billion won worth of shares on the main board. ** The won was quoted at 1,131.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.54% higher than its previous close at 1,137.7. ** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,132.0 per dollar, down 0.4% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,131.3. ** MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.93%,. ** The KOSPI has risen 8.84% so far this year, but lost 2.0% in the previous 30 trading sessions. ** The trading volume during the session in the KOSPI index was 352.00 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 905, the number of advancing shares was 611. ** The won has gained 2.2% against the dollar so far this year. ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.07 points to 111.75. ** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.5 basis points to 0.941%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.2 basis points to 1.540%.
Source: reuters
