Seoul shares rise for 3rd day on eased trade woes

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 32.15 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 2,640.57, following a 1.17 percent jump and 0.04 percent gain on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Trade volume was moderate at 386.7 million shares worth 8.76 trillion won ($6.17 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 588 to 291, reports Yonhap news agency.

Foreign and institutional purchases drove the steep rise. Offshore investors bought a net 470.5 billion won, and institutions scooped up a net 534.5 billion won, offsetting a net selling of 1 trillion won by individuals.

Semiconductor, bio and entertainment shares were among the winners.

Chip giant SK hynix, a key supplier to Nvidia, jumped 3.78 percent to 206,000 won on the U.S. artificial intelligent (AI) chipmaker's deal to sell its Blackwell chip to Saudi Arabia.

Samsung Electronics advanced 0.88 percent to 57,400 won, and Hanmi Semiconductor, a chipmaking equipment provider, rose 3.46 percent to 83,800 won.

Leading bio tech firm Samsung Biologics increased 0.5 percent to 1 million won, and SK bioscience climbed 0.5 percent to 40,200 won.

K-pop powerhouse Hybe went up 3 percent to 275,000 won, and CJ ENM, the country's largest production studio, added 2.85 percent to 57,800 won.

Defence firms also finished higher, turning around from a recent drop amid possible ceasefires in Europe and the Middle East. Industry leader Hanwha Aerospace increased 1.99 percent to 820,000 won, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) vaulted 5.23 percent to 90,600 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,420.2 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 4.2 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 1.9 basis points to 2.351 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds decreased 1.4 basis points to 2.482 percent.