Seoul Stocks Rise 3.56 Percent After Two-Day Losing Streak

Seoul stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday after a two-day losing streak, with the benchmark KOSPI rising 231.68 points, or 3.56 percent, to 6,747.95. The index fell early but rebounded around noon, prompting the bourse operator to halt program trading for five minutes. Trade volume reached 387.8 million shares worth 24.5 trillion won.

Winners outnumbered losers 484 to 380. Foreign and institutional investors bought a net 1.67 trillion won, while retail investors sold 1.64 trillion won. "Stocks were boosted by bargain hunting concentrated on semiconductors," analyst Lee Kyoung-min of Daishin Securities said, citing a bullish outlook from global investment banks on the memory chip sector.

Samsung Electronics rose 6.15 percent to 259,000 won. SK hynix gained 4.08 percent to 1,836,000 won. Naver advanced 3.82 percent to 193,000 won on reports that its executives, including the founder, will visit Brookfield's Canadian headquarters to discuss financing for data centers and an artificial intelligence factory.

Celltrion fell 0.5 percent to 171,600 won. Hyundai Motor closed unchanged at 399,000 won. LG Energy Solution slipped 0.16 percent to 317,000 won. The Korean won strengthened 5 won to 1,473.4 won per U.S.

Dollar at 3:30 p.m. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 2.8 basis points to 3.867 percent. The five-year government bond yield declined 3.4 basis points to 4.12 percent. South Korea's July export figure reached the highest level for any July on record, with semiconductor shipments up 180.6 percent as of July 20.

Tehran confirmed receipt of new mediation proposals from Pakistan and Qatar aimed at ending its conflict with the United States, the analyst added.