South Korean shares rise on Nvidia chip boost; BOK in focus

Business Recorder, citing Reuters, reported that South Korean shares rose on Thursday, with chipmakers leading the advance after US peer Nvidia signalled robust demand. KOSPI, the benchmark index, gained 83.00 points, or 1.22%, to 6,894.25 by 0104 GMT. Earlier in the session it had jumped as much as 2.8%, reaching its strongest intraday level since August 18.

Nvidia projected a 70% jump in revenue for its next fiscal year, pointing to lasting appetite for AI computing, though it cautioned that memory component shortages would keep limiting how fast it can grow. Separately, the Bank of Korea lifted its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 3.00%, a widely expected move that marked its second straight increase amid inflation above target and lingering financial stability risks. The central bank also raised its growth estimate for this year to 3.3% from the 2.6% it had projected in July, while investors awaited a news conference by Governor Shin Hyun-song.

Among index heavyweights, Samsung Electronics gained 1.43% and SK Hynix added 2.37%, while LG Energy Solution advanced 3.42% and POSCO Holdings rose 3.20%. Hyundai Motor fell 1.96% and Kia slipped 1.52%. Overseas investors made net purchases worth 73.3 billion won, or $53.21 million, and the won firmed 0.63% against the dollar to 1,377.6 from a previous close of 1,386.3.