Seoul Stocks Climb Over 1 Percent Boosted by Samsung Electronics Surge

SEOUL: South Korean stocks surged over 1 percent on Monday, reaching a two-week peak, driven by a significant rebound in Samsung Electronics shares. Additionally, the Korean won appreciated against the U.S. dollar. According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased by 29.16 points, or 1.13 percent, closing at 2,612.43. This marks the highest closing price since October 15, when the index ended at 2,633.45. The trading volume was relatively light, with 327.6 million shares transacted, valued at 9 trillion won (approximately US$6.5 billion), as advancing issues outpaced declining ones, 615 to 271. Institutional investors were net buyers, acquiring 426.4 billion won worth of stocks. In contrast, foreign investors and individual investors were net sellers, offloading 130.8 billion won and 331 billion won worth of shares, respectively. Samsung Electronics, with the largest market capitalization on the KOSPI, rose 3.94 percent to 58,100 won. Despite recent declines driven by foreign selling amid disappointing earnings, the world's largest memory chipmaker experienced a rebound. However, SK hynix, a competitor in the chipmaking sector, saw its shares fall 2.49 percent to 196,000 won, while Hanmi Semiconductor, a chip equipment provider, decreased by 2.35 percent to 95,500 won. Electric vehicle battery manufacturers also saw gains, buoyed by Tesla's strong sales report from the previous week. LG Energy Solution gained 2.33 percent to 416,500 won, and POSCO Future M surged 7.05 percent to 243,000 won. In other corporate news, Korea Zinc's shares rose 3.83 percent to 1.3 million won following the company's announcement of securing an 11.26 percent stake through a buyback offer. This move is aimed at defending its management control against a coalition formed by its largest shareholder, Young Poong Corp., and MBK Partners. Korean Air, the national flagship carrier, increased 1.72 percent to 23,700 won, and leading online portal operator Naver climbed 1.55 percent to 170,4 00 won. Conversely, bank shares ended lower, with KB Financial Group dropping 4.75 percent to 96,200 won and Woori Financial Group falling 5.97 percent to 16,060 won. The Korean won was trading at 1,385 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 3.7 won from the previous session, recovering from a nearly four-month low reached on Friday.