KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers
Korean won strengthens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
For the midday report, please click nL3N3P803Q
SEOUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares closed higher on Monday, driven by AI optimism in tech stocks and upbeat performances in stock markets in China, South Korea's biggest trading partner.
The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed up 19.37 points.
** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS was flat and peer SK Hynix 000660.KS gained 0.95%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 0.14%.
** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS shed 3.01% and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS lost 0.74%, while search engine Naver 035420.KS and instant messenger Kakao 035720.KS were unchanged and up 0.77%, respectively.
** Shares of Tencent 0700.HK jumped as much as 7.8% to HK$512, their highest levels since July 2021, and were on course for a second session of gains.
** South Korea on Monday announced plans to secure 10,000 high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) this year in an effort to keep up as the global AI race escalates.
** Of the total 941 traded issues, 620 shares advanced, while 267 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 223.6 billion won ($155.1 million) on the main board on Monday.
** The won was quoted at 1,441.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.01% higher than its previous close at 1,441.9.
** In offshore trading, the won KRW= was quoted at 1,441.6 per dollar, down 0.2% on the day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract KRW1MNDFOR= was quoted at 1,439.5.
** The won has gained 2.1% against the dollar so far this year.
** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 fell 0.04 point to 106.68.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 1.2 basis points to 2.623%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose by 2.3 basis points to 2.869%.
($1 = 1,441.9400 won)
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim)
((Cynthia.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5655; Reuters Messaging: cynthia.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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