South Korean shares hit three-week high as chipmakers jump

SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS

13/08/2026 07:46

Updates markets to close
KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
Korean won weakens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
SEOUL/SINGAPORE, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares rose on Thursday to hit their highest levels in three weeks, led by a jump in chipmakers, tracking overnight gains in U.S. AI and semiconductor stocks. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was up 234.30 points, or 3.56%, at 6,813.34, as of 06:32 GMT, reaching its highest level since July 24. 
** The index is up 29.4% since bottoming out on July 29. The KOSPI has risen 61.68% so far this year in local currency terms.
** Shares of chipmakers SK Hynix 000660.KS and Samsung Electronics 005930.KS rallied 5.9% and 4.9%, respectively. 
** A report that Singapore state investor Temasek plans to invest in the memory chipmakers also buoyed sentiment around the semiconductor sector.   
** The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended higher on Wednesday, lifted by upbeat quarterly results from CoreWeave and other AI infrastructure firms, while mild inflation data reinforced bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in September. .N  
** Among other South Korean index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 1.95%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were up 2.20% and 1.33%, respectively. 
** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS added 0.15%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 0.97%.
** Of the total 901 traded issues, 333 shares advanced, while 533 declined.
** ** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 2.0951 trillion won ($1.48 billion). 
** The won was quoted at 1,419.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.06% weaker than its previous close at 1,418.5. The Korean currency has strengthened 1.4% against the greenback so far this year.
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 gained 0.03 point to 103.34.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR was flat at 3.780%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR fell by 0.2 basis points to 4.289%.
($1 = 1,417.7400 won)
(1 Korean won = $0.0007)

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee and Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Rashmi Aich)
((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))