South Korean shares rise 1% on tariff optimism despite Trump's comments

Kakao

11/02/2025 01:30

* 
      KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers
    

        * 
      Korean won weakens against dollar
    

        * 
      South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
    

  
       SEOUL, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
    
    ** South Korean shares climbed 1% on Tuesday, as investors
remained optimistic that the effects of U.S. tariffs would be
less severe than expected, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's
remarks about potentially imposing additional tariffs.
    ** The benchmark KOSPI  .KS11  was up 25.74 points, or
1.02%, at 2,547.01, as of 0057 GMT. 
    ** Trump said on Monday he was looking at tariffs on cars,
semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals.
    ** Among the KOSPI's top 10 heavyweights, chipmakers, auto
and biopharmaceutical stocks account for six of them. 
    ** The top three sectors driving South Korea's exports to
the U.S. to a record high last year were automobiles, chips, and
auto parts.
    ** South Korea's exports grew marginally in the first 10
days of this month from a year earlier, as shipments to the
United States fell, data showed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nP8N3OC00Z
    ** "The market is pinned to hopes that the impact of tariffs
would not be as severe," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at
Mirae Asset Securities. 
    ** "Tariffs are seen more as bargaining chips for
negotiations, but when they are actually implemented and start
to have a direct impact, market volatility will inevitably
heighten," Seo said. 
    ** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics  005930.KS  rose 0.72%,
while peer SK Hynix  000660.KS  gained 0.91%. Hyundai Motor
 005380.KS  added 1.05%, though sister automaker Kia Corp
 000270.KS  lost 0.11%. 
    ** Samsung Biologics  207940.KS  jumped 3.98%, while
biopharmaceutical peer Celltrion  068270.KS  climbed 1.01%. 
    ** Of the total 941 traded issues, 498 shares advanced,
while 372 declined.
    ** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 10.7 billion
won ($7.38 million).
    ** The won was quoted at 1,452.8 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.10% lower than its previous
close at 1,451.3.
    ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
 KR3YT=RR  fell by 2.8 basis points to 2.611%, while the
benchmark 10-year yield  KR10YT=RR  dropped 4.4 basis points to
2.810%.

    ($1 = 1,450.5100 won)
    

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))