Seoul shares soar to record high on optimism over trade deal with US

Seoul, Oct 16 South Korean stocks hit a fresh all-time high on Thursday, driven by rallies in technology and automobile shares, amid optimism over a possible trade deal with the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 91.09 points, or 2.49 percent, to close at 3,748.37, marking the first time it has climbed past the 3,700 mark, reports Yonhap news agency.

Trade volume was moderate at 487.77 million shares worth 17.37 trillion won (US$12.2 billion). Gainers outnumbered decliners 492 to 387.

Institutional and foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing 741.76 billion won and 652.76 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors offloaded a net 1.39 trillion won.

The Seoul stock market rose for the second straight day over U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's positive remarks regarding the trade deal between Seoul and Washington, as well as optimism over artificial intelligence (AI) investments, analysts said.

The U.S. is about to "finish up" trade negotiations with South Korea, Bessent said Wednesday (U.S. time), as the two allies have been working to finalize details of Korea's $350 billion investment commitment.

"His remarks that he sees no bubble in AI investment also gave a boost to technology stocks in both the U.S. and Korea," Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities Co., said.

Seoul's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac also voiced hope that Seoul and Washington could eventually reach a compromise in trade talks.

In Seoul, technology and auto stocks led the gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.84 percent to a record high of 97,700 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix jumped 7.1 percent to 452,500 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor surged 8.28 percent to 242,000 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia climbed 7.23 percent to 111,300 won on growing optimism over the Seoul-Washington tariff deal.

Among decliners, state-run Korea Gas Corp. lost 0.12 percent to 40,350 won, and leading budget carrier Jeju Air shed 0.81 percent to 6,150 won.

Hanwha Aerospace Industries dropped 1.89 percent to 936,000 won, and Korea Aerospace Industries was down 1.3 percent to 98,700 won.

The Korean won had been quoted at 1,417.90 won against the U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 3.4 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.9 basis points to 2.569 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 4.4 basis points to 2.684 percent.

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