South Korean stocks rise 2% as Samsung Elec surges on share buyback plan

KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers

Korean won strengthens against dollar

South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

SEOUL, – Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean stocks rose 2% on Monday, as market heavyweight Samsung Electronics surged more than 7% after the chipmaker announced plans late on Friday to buy back shares. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

** The benchmark KOSPI was up 50.21 points, or 2.08%, at 2,467.07, as of 00:42 GMT.

** Among index heavyweights, Samsung Electronics rose 7.1% and peer SK Hynix lost 1.07%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 3.23%.

** Samsung Electronics has decided to buy back shares worth 10 trillion won over a one-year period to boost shareholder value. Its shares plunged to more than four-year lows last week.

** Hyundai Motor climbed 3.64% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 3.28%, while search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 0.05% and up 1.03%, respectively.

** Of the total 934 traded issues, 665 shares advanced, while 223 declined.

** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 89.2 billion won on the main board on Monday.

** The won was quoted at 1,393.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.42% higher than its previous close at 1,399.5.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,394.4 per dollar, flat on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,394.9.

** The KOSPI has fallen 7.09% so far this year, and lost 5.7% in the previous 30 trading sessions.

** The won has lost 7.6% against the dollar this year.

** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.06 point to 105.86.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.9 basis points to 2.923%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 1.7 basis points to 3.068%.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.