South Korean stocks hit record high on AI, market reform optimism

Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares hit a record high on Friday, set for their best weekly performance in more than 18 months, buoyed by investor optimism over artificial intelligence technologies and domestic market reform efforts.

** The benchmark KOSPI was up 35.70 points, or 1.07%, at 3,379.90, as of 0107 GMT. The index was on track to extend its gains for a ninth consecutive session, if the current momentum persists.


** The KOSPI index has risen 5.5% so far this week, set for its biggest weekly gain since late January 2024.

** Shares of chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 2.18% and peer SK Hynix gained 5.54%, supported by prospects of a demand boost amid global AI boom.

** SK Hynix said it has completed its internal certification process for next generation high-bandwidth memory 4(HBM4) chips and established a production system for customers.

** South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday scrapped a plan to revise a capital gains tax on stock investments, conceding that the move risked undermining the market and reaffirming a promise of reform to revitalise it.

** Shares of Hyundai Motor fell 0.45% as CEO Jose Munoz said the automaker was facing a minimum startup delay of two to three months following an immigration raid at a U.S. plant construction site last week. Sister automaker Kia Corp lost 0.66%.

** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 1.95%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.68%.

** Of the total 928 traded issues, 485 shares advanced, while 364 declined.

** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 352.7 billion won ($253.84 million).

** The won was quoted at 1,389.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.12% higher than its previous close at 1,390.7.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield was flat at 2.416%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.8 basis points to 2.797%.

($1 = 1,389.4800 won).