South Korea's KOSPI crosses key 3,000 mark on post-election rally

Reuters
20 Jun
South Korea's KOSPI crosses key 3,000 mark on post-election rally

KOSPI tops 3,000 for first time in 3-1/2 years

Tech stocks rally on post-election policy optimism

MSCI says short-selling improved ahead of index review

For the midday report, please click nP8N3MD083

SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korea's benchmark KOSPI stock index rose above a key milestone of 3,000 points for the first time in 3-1/2 years on Friday, led by technology stocks on a post-election rally.

** The KOSPI .KS11 ended the session up 44.10 points, or 1.48%, at 3,021.84, its highest close since December 9, 2021.

** The index, in its lifetime, traded above 3,000 only for a year from early January 2021 to 2022, when global stock markets were buoyed by a liquidity boost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

** President Lee Jae Myung, who won a snap presidential election on June 3, has vowed investment in artificial intelligence, reforms to boost the domestic stock market and expansionary fiscal policy to spur growth.

** South Korea's stock market accessibility for short-selling has improved and has no major issues, MSCI said on Friday, as investors brace for next week's market classification from the global index provider and hope the country gets an upgrade, which also is one of Lee's market pledges.

** "Foreigners are returning, after an earlier heavy sell-off of local stocks and ahead of MSCI's market reclassification in late June," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

** Foreigners, who have been leading the post-election rally, bought local shares worth 561.9 billion won ($410.76 million). They have bought 4.8 trillion won so far this month.

** Tech stocks extended a recent rally on policy optimism, with instant messenger Kakao 035720.KS surging 10.3% and search engine Naver 035420.KS jumping 6.9%.

** AI chipmaker SK Hynix 000660.KS rose 4.5% and cloud-service provider LG CNS 064400.KS gained 9.3%, while most other index heavyweights also advanced.

** The won was quoted 1.04% higher at 1,365.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC.

($1 = 1,367.9600 won)

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))

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.

Most Discussed

  1. 1
     
     
     
     
  2. 2
     
     
     
     
  3. 3
     
     
     
     
  4. 4
     
     
     
     
  5. 5
     
     
     
     
  6. 6
     
     
     
     
  7. 7
     
     
     
     
  8. 8
     
     
     
     
  9. 9
     
     
     
     
  10. 10