Korean TikTok partners' shares rally on broad U.S.-China deal

Seoul [South Korea], September 16 : South Korean stocks with ties to TikTok rose Tuesday morning after reports that the United States and China reached a broad agreement on the platform's future in high-level trade talks held in Spain, as per a report by Pulse, the English service of Maeil Business Newspaper Korea.

Online ad company Wisebirds' shares climbed 5.58 per cent to 1,117 won (USD 0.81) as of 9:20 a.m., while those of digital marketing firm MOBIDAYS gained 3.43 per cent to 1,960 won. Both companies are official partners of TikTok.

TikTok has faced security concerns in the United States due to its Chinese parent company ByteDance, with critics warning it could be used by Beijing for hacking or data theft.

Meanwhile, webtoon-related stocks also advanced after The Walt Disney Company announced a new partnership with WEBTOON Entertainment, the U.S. headquarters of Naver Webtoon, to create a digital comics platform. Disney will acquire a 2 per cent stake in WEBTOON Entertainment as part of the deal.

Mr. Blue shares surged 15.71 per cent to 1,878 won at 9:19 a.m., while those of Ylab rose 10.43 per cent and Topco Media 6.19 per cent. Naver shares gained 0.85 per cent, while those of other webtoon-linked firms including KidariStudio (2.18 per cent) and DNC Media (1.25 per cent) also traded higher.

Battery stocks strengthened on news of Tesla's rally on Wall Street. LG Energy Solution rose 0.98 per cent to 359,000 won as of 9:05 a.m., while those of LG Chem gained 0.68 per cent, POSCO Holdings 0.70 per cent, POSCO Future M 0.76 per cent, L&F 4.29 per cent, EcoPro 1.31 per cent, and EcoPro BM 0.91 per cent. Tesla shares closed on Monday up 3.62 per cent at USD 410.26 in New York, with shares boosted by CEO Elon Musk's purchase of USD 1 billion worth of company stock.

Defense shares also traded higher after reports that the Israeli military began a ground offensive to seize Gaza City. LIG Nex1 shares rose 5.45 per cent to 522,000 won at 9:34 a.m., while Hanwha Aerospace shares gained 1.72 pe rcent to 1,003,000 won, Hyundai Rotem shares were up 1.63 per cent, and Poongsan share rose 6.44 per cent.

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