Seoul stocks rally on quick economic rebound hopes

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares jumped over 2 percent late Wednesday morning, leading gains in Asia amid hopes of an economic recovery and reduced tension between the world's largest economies.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) spiked 53.44 points, or 2.56 percent, to 2,140.63 as of 11:20 a.m.

Japan's Topix index advanced 1.28 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.07 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.42 percent.

The KOSPI's stellar gains were largely attributed to the improved investor sentiment globally, buoyed by rollbacks of lockdown provisions that fueled optimism for an economic rebound.

"Investor sentiment turned out more sensitive to the U.S. economic reopening and the central banks' supply of ample liquidity, rather than uncertainties from the (Floyd) protests," said Samsung Securities researcher Seo Jung-hun.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 101.78 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 24,474.12 on Tuesday (New York time), despite risks from the spreading civil protests over the death of George Floyd in the United States.

Latest reports suggested that the U.S. is continuing to ship soybeans to China, dismissing earlier reports that Beijing may be pressuring retaliations by pushing its state-run importers to stop purchasing American products. China's purchase of U.S. soybeans is a key component in the Sino-American trade deal signed in January.

The U.S. and China are South Korea's two main trading partners.

Investor sentiments were further boosted after Seoul announced plans to push for a third supplementary budget of 35.3 trillion won (US$29 billion), the largest-ever amount in the country's history for an extra budget.

Most large caps traded higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics spiked 5.45 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix surged 5.16 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics spiked 0.32 percent, with leading chemical maker LG Chem advancing 0.76 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,215.80 won against the U.S. dollar, up 8.6 won from the previous session's close.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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