South Korean shares hit record on export surge, Nvidia optimism

Samsung Electronics Co

01/06/2026 07:57

KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers
Korean won strengthens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
For the midday report, please click nL1N42903H

    SEOUL, June 1 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares rose more than 3% on Monday to notch a record close, as chipmakers and other technology firms rallied on surging exports and optimism around AI cooperation with Nvidia. 
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 ended up 312.23 points, or 3.68%, at 8,788.38, its highest closing level on record. 
** During the session, the index rose as much as 4.7%, with its sharp gains triggering a "sidecar" trading curb. 
** "Upside depends on whether valuations expand for chipmaker stocks to the levels being mentioned in the market," said Park Kwang-nam, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. 
** South Korea's exports grew more than expected in May at the strongest annual rate in over four decades, as a global boom in AI investment drove chip sales to a record, swelling optimism on the trade-reliant economy and its world-beating stock rally.
** Shares in South Korean tech firms rallied as expected meetings between Nvidia NVDA.O CEO Jensen Huang and Korean executives fuelled hopes of tie-ups in AI and robotics.
** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS rose 10.1% to a record close, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS gained 2%. 
** Home appliance maker LG Electronics 066570.KS rose by the daily limit of 29.9% for the second straight session to an all-time high, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS rose 3.7%. E-commerce firm Naver 035420.KS surged 15.6%.
** Of the total 923 traded issues, 179 shares advanced, while 732 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 2.9 trillion won ($1.93 billion). 
** The won was quoted 0.03% higher at 1,504.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, after falling as much as 0.9% earlier in the session. The currency has weakened 4.3% against the dollar so far this year.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 4.7 basis points to 3.785%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose by 9.5 basis points to 4.166%.

($1 = 1,503.7000 won)

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))