SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - South Korean shares extended gains Wednesday, outperforming most Asian markets that moved flat to lower amid profit-taking.
The benchmark KOSPI rose 1.56 percent to close at 3,883.68, while the KOSDAQ gained 0.76 percent to 879.15. Battery-related shares led the rally after a JP Morgan report showed global energy storage system (ESS) shipments in September jumped 105 percent year-on-year. LG Energy Solution climbed 3.09 percent to 450,500 won ($315.05), and Samsung SDI advanced 1.16 percent to 262,000 won.
LG Chem surged 13.01 percent to 391,000 won after British activist fund Palliser Capital said the stock was trading at a 74 percent discount to its net asset value (NAV) — one of the steepest among major South Korean conglomerates.
Hanwha Ocean jumped 9.69 percent to 132,400 won, boosted by expectations that its third-quarter operating profit will soar more than 1,000 percent from a year earlier on strong orders for high-value-added vessels.
Semiconductor bellwethers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which have powered recent market rallies, extended modest gains. Samsung Electronics rose 0.82 percent to 98,300 won, and SK hynix added 0.52 percent to 481,500 won.
On the KOSDAQ, EcoPro stood out, soaring 15.15 percent to 87,400 won. The supplier of cathode materials and precursors for secondary batteries has benefited from renewed optimism in the global EV and ESS markets.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended nearly flat, shedding 0.02 percent to close at 49,307.79 after recovering from earlier losses of 0.7 percent triggered by tech sell-offs. SoftBank Group dropped 4.9 percent to 23,700 yen ($156.15), weighed down by concerns over large-scale tech investments including its Stargate initiative.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.07 percent to 3,913.76 as investors remained cautious amid lingering U.S.–China trade tensions. Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 0.37 percent to 27,648.91.
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