The Seoul stock market’s main KOSPI rose 29.70 points, or 1.63%, to 1,855.46
South Korean shares rebounded on Tuesday, tracking Asian peers, as growing hopes of the coronavirus pandemic peaking overshadowed fears of a global economic slowdown. The Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
The Seoul stock market’s main KOSPI rose 29.70 points, or 1.63%, to 1,855.46 as of 0206 GMT. The index fell 15.57% so far this year.
Foreigners were net sellers of 29.8 billion won ($24.50 million) worth of shares on the main board, set to extend the selloff to a 29th straight session.
Stock prices rose on hopes that the ongoing lockdown may be lifted in the next two weeks considering the slowdown in infections, said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration was close to completing a plan to re-open the U.S. economy, which has been largely shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus topped 23,000 on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, as officials said the worst may be over and the outbreak could reach its peak this week.
South Korea reported 27 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the national tally to 10,564.
South Korea’s president said on Tuesday the government will soon submit its supplementary budget plan to parliament, while stressing the need to prepare more measures to support the labour market and companies being hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
The won was quoted at 1,217.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.06% higher than its previous close at 1,217.9.
In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,216.7 per dollar, down 0.1% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,214.9.
The trading volume during the session in the KOSPI index was 427.68 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 900, the number of advancing shares was 729.
The won has lost 5.0% against the dollar so far this year.
In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.03 points to 111.57.
The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 1.4 basis points to 1.009%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.4 basis points to 1.472%.
