South Korean shares closed higher on Friday for a second straight session as investors continued to pin high hopes on strong shareholder returns from Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) and SK Hynix (KRX:000660).
SK Hynix announced plans to repurchase about 40 trillion won in common shares, while Samsung Electronics was expected to unveil a shareholder return program worth up to 110 trillion won. Shares of Samsung Electronics added nearly 4% at market close on Friday, while those of SK Hynix added over 2%.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, increased by 60.37 points, or 0.9%, to close at 6,912.95. The Kosdaq fell by 38.95 points, or 4.6%, to close at 801.94.
In economic news, producer prices in South Korea increased 7.7% year over year in July, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea released on Friday.
The reading eased from the 8.5% expansion recorded in the previous month and missed the Trading Economics forecast for steady growth at 8.5%.
The sustained increase in July was driven primarily by a 12.2% rise in manufacturing producer prices, where coal and petroleum output surged 50.7% year over year, while prices for computer products rose 24.2%.
In corporate news, Samsung Electronics plans to introduce the new family of the Galaxy S26 series on Aug. 27, the electronics products maker said in a Thursday release.
The product, the name of which remains undisclosed, is broadly expected to be the Galaxy S26 FE, according to a same-day report by Pulse News.
In other news, Hyundai Motor's (KRX:005380) full-day labor strike on Friday is estimated to cause 2.3 trillion won in lost sales by halting production at its Ulsan, Jeonju, and Asan plants for 16 hours.
About 39,000 union members are walking out after failing to reach a wage agreement with management. The union has staged 60 hours of strikes since May and plans additional four-hour stoppages on Monday and Tuesday.
The ongoing strikes are expected to result in an estimated cumulative production loss of 55,200 vehicles.
Hyundai Motor did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.
Shares of the company fell nearly 1% at market close.