South Korea stocks gain on US-Iran deal hopes; on track for 5% weekly gain

LG Energy Solution

22/05/2026 03:00

KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers

Korean won weakens against dollar

South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

SEOUL, May 22 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares rose on Friday and were on track to log a nearly 5% weekly gain, extending a rally fuelled by the AI boom and on optimism that the U.S.-Iran talks could land a deal soon.

** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was up 14.43 points, or 0.18%, at 7,830.02 as of 01:28 GMT. For the week, the index was up 4.92%, while for the year it was up 85.8%.

** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 1.92%, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 0.62%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 1.25%.

** On Friday, Samsung Electronics' South Korean union members will begin voting on a tentative pay deal reached with the company. The vote was due to run into next week, according to a union notice.

** U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been "
some good signs
" in talks with Iran, even as the two sides stuck to opposing stances over Tehran's uranium stockpile and control of the Strait of Hormuz.

** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were down 2.55% and 2.38%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS added 1.01%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 1.51%.

** Of the total 917 traded issues, 758 shares advanced, while 136 declined.

** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 1,323.4 billion won.

** In offshore trading, the won KRW= was quoted at 1,510.2 per dollar, down 0.4% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract KRW1MNDFOR= was quoted at 1,508.8.

** The won has weakened 4.5% against the dollar so far this year.

** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 gained 0.08 point to 103.26.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR fell by 1.4 basis points to 3.742%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR fell by 3.3 bps to 4.149%.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim)

((Cynthia.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5655; Reuters Messaging: cynthia.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net/))