South Korean shares hit record as chipmakers surge on OpenAI deal

KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers Korean won strengthens against dollar South Korea benchmark bond yield falls SEOUL, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets South Korean shares hit a record high on Thursday, as chipmakers surged on partnership agreements with U.S. artificial intelligence firm OpenAI. The benchmark KOSPI (.KS11) was up 107.14 points, or 3.10%, at 3,562.97, as of 0246 GMT, after hitting its record high at 3,565.96. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) rose more than 4% to its highest level since January 2021, and SK Hynix (000660.KS) gained more than 12% to an all-time high. The two chipmakers, accounting for nearly 30% of the benchmark index by market capitalisation, signed a deal on Wednesday to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s data centres. Samsung Electronics’ affiliates Samsung SDI (006400.KS) , Samsung C&T (028260.KS) and Samsung SDS (018260.KS) also rose sharply on the deal. “We had expected some profit-taking before holidays, but the semiconductor sector is leading the benchmark’s gains with strong foreign inflows on upbeat exports and the OpenAI deal,” said Lee Sung-hoon, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. The global AI boom has been driving strong demand for semiconductors, which led South Korea’s exports to rise in September at the fastest pace in 14 months despite a hit from U.S. tariffs, blowing past market expectations. Foreigners were net buyers of local shares worth 1.72 trillion won ($1.23 billion). South Korean financial markets will be closed from October 3 to October 9 for public holidays. Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) climbed 1.44%, while Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and sister automaker Kia Corp (000270.KS) were up 1.97% and 2.78%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings (005490.KS) shed 0.18%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics (207940.KS) rose 0.50%. The won was quoted at 1,401.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform (KRW=KFTC) , 0.12% higher than its previous close at 1,403.0. The most-liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield (KR3YT=RR) fell by 1 basis point to 2.588%, while the benchmark 10-year yield (KR10YT=RR) fell by 0.1 bp to 2.959%. ($1 = 1,401.4000 won)