South Korean shares hit record high on optimism over US trade talks

Published on 10/20/2025 at 03:51 am EDT

• KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers
• Korean won strengthens against dollar
• South Korea benchmark bond yield rises

(Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares rose more than 1% on Monday to a record peak as optimism grew around U.S. trade talks with Beijing as well as Seoul.
** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 65.80 points, or 1.76%, at an all-time high of 3,814.69.
** U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, easing some market jitters over the escalating trade conflict between the two countries.
** "It is expected that there will be a positive impact on the stock market from related news flows ahead of the summit meeting," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
** South Korea has a higher chance of reaching a trade deal with the U.S. by the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) summit in South Korea later this month, the country's chief policy adviser said on Sunday.
** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.20%, while peer SK Hynix gained 4.30%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.35%.
** Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 2.06% and 2.14%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 0.51%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 1.61%.
** Of the total 931 traded issues, 595 shares advanced, while 289 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 250.8 billion won ($176.62 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,419.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.21% higher than its previous close at 1,422.2.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.07 point to 106.88.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 2.5 basis points to 2.571%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 0.9 basis point to 2.895%. ($1 = 1,420.0100 won)
 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Eileen Soreng) 

Sumber : Reuters