SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean stocks close higher, tracking Wall Street’s overnight rally
South Korean shares were flat on Thursday after a four-session winning run, as gains in automakers countered losses in battery manufacturers.
The benchmark KOSPI was down 1.60 points, or 0.06%, at 2,519.45, as of 0102 GMT. In morning trade, the KOSPI moved between a fall of 0.2% and a gain of 0.3%.
Hyundai Motor climbed 0.94% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 2.48%, after the group announced a plan to invest a record 24.3 trillion won ($16.67 billion) in the home country this year.
Chipmaker SK Hynix gained 3.49%, after business discussions with customer Nvidia. The chairman of the SK Group said the pace of developing high-end chips was speeding up.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.75%, tracking overnight losses in US battery stocks. Peers Samsung SDI and SK Innovation fell 3.35% and 2.20%, respectively.
Battery materials makers LG Chem and POSCO Holdings lost 2.53% and 1.33%, respectively.
Of the total 939 traded issues, 309 shares advanced, while 560 declined.
Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 179.5 billion won.
The won was quoted at 1,458.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.10% higher than its previous close at 1,459.6.
In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.03 point to 106.96.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.4 basis points to 2.494%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.0 basis points to 2.780%.