South Korean shares end higher as chipmakers rebound on dip buying

By Reuters News22 hours ago Updated

SEOUL, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares recouped early losses to end higher on Monday, as chipmakers rebounded on dip buying after logging sharp losses last week.

** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed up 99.96 points, or 1.76%, at 5,768.01.

** Earlier in the session, the index fell more than 3%, tracking a slump in US tech stocks in the previous session.

** Wall Street ended sharply lower on Friday, with CoreWeave CRWV.O, Broadcom AVGO.O and other AI-related technology stocks under renewed pressure, while a jump in oil prices spooked traders heading into the weekend. .N

** South Korean Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said the economy could grow by as much as 3.4% to 3.6% this year, the Yonhap news agency reported.

** "The market rebounded on dip buying after falling excessively last week. Still, chipmaker stocks were not as strong as other sectors as AI uncertainty remains high," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

** Last week, the KOSPI logged its biggest weekly fall in 18 years on a slump in chipmakers as worries grew over the sustainability of AI investment.

** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS closed up 1.16% and peer SK Hynix 000660.KS rose 0.39%, after falling more than 4% each.

** Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 7.20%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were up 4.49% and 5.26%, respectively.

** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS added 6.07%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 9.94%.

** Of the total 914 traded issues, 677 shares advanced, while 204 declined.

** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 38.1 billion won ($28.64 million).

** The won was quoted at 1,330.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 0.47% higher than its previous close at 1,336.5.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.4 basis point to 3.878%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 3.9 basis points to 4.202%.

($1 = 1,330.5000 won)