Builders, train makers surge on hopes of inter-Korean exchanges (updated)

Hyundai BNG Steel Co

30/04/2018 06:20

(Add details on other sectors and background)
    SEOUL, April 30 (Reuters) - Shares of South Korean
construction firms, train and steel manufacturers soared on
Monday, buoyed by optimism as leaders of North and South Korea
held their first summit in over a decade, and boosted hopes of
economic projects between the two nations.
    On Friday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his North
Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un agreed on a common goal of a
"nuclear-free" peninsula, and to "adopt practical steps towards
the connection and modernization of the railways and roads".
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1S4448   
    Moon also said he expected the two Koreas to start joint
research to pursue inter-Korean economic projects, declaring an
official end this year to the 1950s Korean war.
    Shares of train manufacturer Hyundai Rotem  064350.KS 
jumped 30 percent to their highest in near four years. Builders
also surged with Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co Ltd
 000720.KS  rallying 27 percent and Halla Corp  014790.KS 
shares surging 30 percent to their highest since Oct 10, 2014.  
  
    Steel shares rallied on expectations of higher construction
demand, with POSCO  005490.KS  gaining 7 percent and Hyundai
Steel  004020.KS  jumping as much as 13 percent. 
    Hyundai Elevator  017800.KS , the top shareholder in Hyundai
Asan, which operated tours to North Korea's Mount Kumgang, also
jumped 15 percent on hopes of resumption of key economic
cooperation projects. 
    Shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine  011200.KS  rallied
as much as 24 percent. Hyundai Merchant Marine was part of a
South Korean consortium in a pilot project that brought Russian
coal to South Korea through the North Korean port of Rajin. 
    

 (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Ju-min Park, Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((hyunjoo.jin@thomsonreuters.com; 82-2-3704-5685; Reuters
Messaging: hyunjoo.jin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))