South Korean shares rose for a sixth straight session on Wednesday to surpass the 2,900-point level at market close, driven by continued foreign purchases and optimism over the ongoing US-China trade negotiations.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or Kospi rose by 35.19 points, or 1.2%, to end at 2,907.04, a three-year high. The Kosdaq gained 15.09 points, or 2%, to close at 786.29.
In economic news, South Korea's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate slid to 2.7% in May from 2.8% in the year-ago period but was unchanged from the previous month, official data showed.
In corporate news, Posco Future M (KRX:003670), the battery materials arm of Posco Holdings (KRX:005490), completed construction of a precursor plant in Gwangyang to build a fully localized battery materials supply chain.
The new plant, with an annual capacity of 45,000 tons, can supply materials for around 500,000 electric vehicles. Precursors are intermediate materials used before producing cathode active materials in lithium-ion batteries.
Shares of Posco Future M rose nearly 4% at market close on Wednesday while those of Posco Holdings increased about 2%.