South Korean shares closed higher on Monday, driven by bargain-hunting and gains in the information technology, defense, and energy sectors.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or Kospi rose by 52.04 points, or 1.80%, to end at 2,946.66. The Kosdaq gained 8.4 points, or 1.09%, to close at 777.26.
In economic news, South Korea will extend key tax relief measures beyond their June 30 expiration, including fuel and auto consumption tax cuts, to lower inflation and support economic recovery.
The temporary fuel tax cut--10% on gasoline and 15% on diesel and LPG butane--will now run through Aug. 31, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a Monday release.
The country will also prolong tax breaks on power generation fuels and autos, and maintain lower quota tariffs on LPG and processed fruits. In addition, new quota tariffs will be applied to select items, with volumes expanded for others, as part of broader efforts to ease living costs, it said.
In corporate news, Naver (KRX:035420), Nvidia, Nexus Core Systems, and Lloyds Capital will build a 500-megawatt renewable energy-powered AI data center in Morocco, targeting the EMEA region, Naver said in a Friday release.
Construction of the data center will begin in the fourth quarter, with an initial 40MW phase using Nvidia's Blackwell (GB200) graphic processing units, the report said.
Naver Cloud will co-operate the facility, offering localized AI/cloud services to meet Europe's data sovereignty and technological requirements.
Shares of Naver rose more than 4% at market close on Monday.
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.