Seoul shares rise nearly 1% on tech gains, with upcoming US-Iran talks in focus

An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks ended nearly 1 percent higher Tuesday, led by gains in technology shares, as investors watched for a possible resumption of US-Iran talks in Qatar aimed at easing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The Korean won weakened against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 81.83 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 8,476.47.

Investor sentiment improved after the United States and Iran were set to resume talks in Qatar aimed at easing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, alleviating concerns over a prolonged disruption to global oil supplies.

Overnight, Wall Street rebounded sharply as investors returned to tech stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.59 percent to close at a record high, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.07 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.18 percent.

Crude prices rose modestly as investors monitored implementation of the US-Iran peace framework.

Trade volume was moderate at 444.61 million shares worth 41.08 trillion won ($26.51 billion), with losers outnumbering losers 621 to 261

Institutions and individuals bought a net 2.93 trillion won and 833.45 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while foreigners sold a net 3.79 trillion won.

“Investors scooped up semiconductor shares following recent losses, while IT infrastructure and electricity stocks rose on hopes for major investment in semiconductor infrastructure in the southwestern region announced by the government and chipmakers,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Tech shares lifted the overall market.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 3.41 percent to 334,000 won, and chip giant SK hynix gained 0.84 percent to 1.65 million won. SK Square, the parent of SK hynix, advanced 3.48 percent to 1.69 million won.

Chip components maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 7.16 percent to 1.18 million won after announcing a 454 billion-won supply deal for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for artificial intelligence servers to a US-based customer.

Battery shares retreated on profit-taking after sharp gains the previous session.

LG Energy Solution plunged 9.61 percent to 362,000 won, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI sank 4.88 percent to 487,000 won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,549.4 won per US dollar as of 3:30 p.m., down 4.2 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)