03/31/2023 02:56am EDT
*KOSPI rises 1%, foreigners net buyers
* Korean won weakens against dollar
* South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
SEOUL (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares rose 1% on Friday, buoyed by Wall Street's overnight gains and China's better-than-expected manufacturing data, ending the quarter with its best performance in over two years.
** The Korean won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI ended up 23.70 points, or 0.97%, at 2,476.86, hitting the highest level since Feb. 9.
** The KOSPI ended the week 2.56% higher, the month 2.65% higher, and the quarter 10.75% higher. It was the best quarterly performance since the last quarter of 2020.
** China's manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in March, official data showed on Friday, which still beat expectations. The services sector expanded at the fastest pace in nearly 12 years.
** "The data added to hopes for an economic recovery in China and provided support to the local stock market as well," said analyst Lee Kyoung-min at Daishin Securities.
** Technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 1.27%, but peer SK Hynix lost 0.23% and battery maker LG Energy Solution fell 0.68%.
** Hyundai Motor gained 1.82% and sister automaker Kia Corp jumped 2.02%, while steelmaker POSCO Holdings rallied 8.39% on hopes for benefits from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
** Korea Electric Power Corp dropped 4.66% after the government postponed its decision on new electricity prices for the second quarter.
** Of the total 937 issues traded, 482 shares rose.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 513.6 billion won ($394.83 million), scooped up 6.86 trillion won worth of local stocks in the first quarter - the biggest in 9-1/2 years.
** The won ended onshore trade at 1,301.9 per dollar, 0.22% lower than its previous close at 1,299.0.
** The currency ended the week down 0.58%, but rose 1.59% for the month. For the quarter, it lost 2.87%.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 2.4 basis points to 3.264%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 2.7 basis points to 3.330%. ($1 = 1,300.8000 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

Sumber : Reuters