South Korean shares end over 1% higher on chip, battery boost

HYUNDAI MOTOR

09/09/2026 07:49

KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers
Korean won strengthens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
For the midday report, please click nL1N45101H
SEOUL, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares rose more than 1% on Wednesday to close at the highest level since late July, on gains led by chip and battery makers. 
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed 97.12 points or 1.40%higher, at 7,051.64, its highest closing level since July 23. 
** "Investor sentiment is recovering around AI infrastructure investments," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities. 
** Chipmaker peer SK Hynix 000660.KS gained 3.51%, while Samsung Electronics 005930.KS ended flat.
** OpenAI said in a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday that it was deepening cooperation with Samsung Electronics across semiconductors and enterprise AI services.
** Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 6.46%, while peers Samsung SDI 006400.KS and SK Innovation 096770.KS jumped 8.3% and 11.2%, respectively. 
** U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a letter to Ford Motor F.N CEO Jim Farley sent on Tuesday said the automaker's dealings with Chinese battery makers raised "profound concern" and urged the automaker to cut ties.
** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were up 0.78% and up 1.12%, respectively.
** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS added 2.59%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 0.83%.
** Of the total 913 traded issues, 463 shares advanced, while 400 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 435.0 billion won ($325.57 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,336.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.50% higher than its previous close at 1,342.8.
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 lost 0.05 point to 103.06.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 0.7 basis points to 3.910%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose by 1.2 basis points to 4.402%.

($1 = 1,336.1000 won)

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))