S.Korean shares rise, led by SK and LG on shareholder return pledges

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KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
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Korean won strengthens against dollar
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South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
SEOUL, – Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares rose more than 1% on Friday as major conglomerates SK and LG announced measures to improve shareholder value and were set to post their best week in three months.
** The benchmark KOSPI was up 26.78 points, or 1.08%, at 2,507.41 as of 0211 GMT.
** The KOSPI has risen 3.9% this week, after a drop of 5.6% last week, and is set to post its biggest weekly jump since mid-August, if gains hold.
** South Korea has been pushing for corporate reforms this year, with the so-called “Corporate Value-up Programme”, aimed at boosting the value of listed companies with improvements in shareholder returns.
** SK Square rose 6.6% after the holding company of SK Hynix, a maker of artificial intelligence chips, announced a share buyback plan on Thursday. SK Hynix rose 4.6%.
** Battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 1.6%, battery materials maker LG Chem added 1.9%, while beauty product maker LG Household & Healthcare jumped 3.5%.
** They also announced measures, including share buyback and cancellation, as well as revenue targets, in regulatory filings submitted on Friday.
** Samsung Electronics fell 0.18%, but it was still up 5.2% for the week after a surprise buyback plan unveiled last week.
** Of the total 939 traded issues, 567 shares advanced, while 283 declined.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 141.1 billion won .
** The won was quoted at 1,399.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.16% higher than its previous close at 1,402.0.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.05 point to 106.19.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.7 basis points to 2.812%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.4 basis points to 2.978%.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.