SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares flat as market awaits Nvidia earnings

• South Korean shares traded a tad higher on Wednesday as investors awaited Nvidia earnings due later in the day for further cues on global AI chip demand. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

• The benchmark KOSPI was up 12.61 points, or 0.51%, at 2,484.56 as of 02:31 GMT.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.24%, while peer SK Hynix gained 1.23%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution added 1.52%.

• Hyundai Motor climbed 1.16% and sister automaker Kia advanced 3.99%. Search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 0.26% and down 1.38%, respectively.

• Of the total 939 traded issues, 452 shares advanced, while 417 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 101.9 billion won ($73 million) on the main board.

• The won was quoted at 1,391.8 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.09% higher than its previous close at 1,393.0.

• In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,391.9 per dollar, up 0.0% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,389.8.

• The KOSPI has fallen 6.43% so far this year, losing 5.3% in the last 30 trading sessions.

• The won has lost 7.5% against the dollar so far this year.

• In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.06 point to 106.03.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.7 basis points to 2.873%, while the benchmark 10-year yield dropped by 1.8 basis points to 3.014%.