South Korean shares end over 2% higher as chipmakers jump

LG Energy Solution

18/09/2026 08:24

KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
Korean won weakens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
For the midday report, please click nL4N45A03F
SEOUL, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares rose more than 2% on Friday, as chipmakers tracked an overnight rally in U.S. peers, but still ended the week lower amid worries about high bond yields. 
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed up 178.82 points, or 2.66%, at 6,894.23, marking its biggest daily percentage rise since September 7. 
** It logged a 0.2% weekly decline, after rising 3.3% last week.
** "Macroeconomic conditions improved with oil prices falling on easing worries about supply disruptions and U.S. Treasury yields decreasing after the Federal Reserve's policy meeting," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. 
** Wall Street bounced back on Thursday as easing oil prices, dropping US Treasury yields and solid labour data helped markets move beyond the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in more than three years. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOX rose 3.1%. .N
** SK Hynix 000660.KS ended up 6.42%, extending gains after Reuters reported that the chipmaker's subsidiary Solidigm is considering building a NAND flash memory chip factory in the US, with upstate New York emerging as a leading candidate.
** Peer chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS rose 3.37%.
** Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS slid 0.27%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were up 0.55% and 0.83%, respectively.
** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS shed 1.07%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 0.14%.
** Of the total 912 traded issues, 407 shares advanced, while 465 declined.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 424.5 billion won ($306.87 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,383.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.13% lower than its previous close at 1,381.5.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 gained 0.02 point to 102.23.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR fell by 1.5 basis points to 4.043%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR fell by 4.1 basis points to 4.471%.

($1 = 1,383.3000 won)

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))