S. Korean stocks rally on stimulus, vaccine hopes

SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks extended gains late Tuesday morning on hopes of economic rebound and easing new coronavirus woes, with top cap Samsung Electronics spiking.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 40.25 points, or 1.81 percent, to 2,258.11 as of 11:20 a.m.

The market continued a bullish run amid massive stimulus efforts in the U.S. and Europe.

The weak U.S. dollar led to strong foreign buying in emerging economies, including South Korea.

Investor sentiment was further boosted by reports that the experimental COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., entered final clinical trials.

A sharp drop in the number of new virus cases in South Korea, as well as a slowdown in daily infections in the U.S., helped boost investor sentiment.

South Korea added 28 new cases on Tuesday, up from 25 on Monday but sharply down from a four-month high of 113 on Saturday.

Most large caps traded higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics spiked 4.86 percent on expectations that the company will benefit from the rising tensions between U.S. and China.

No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.85 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics advanced 1.46 percent and leading chemical maker LG Chem climbed 1.74 percent.

The country's largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, remained flat, while leading steelmaker POSCO added 1.28 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,192.45 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.65 won from the previous session's close.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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