FX.co ★ Korean Shares Rise on Auto, Financial Gains

The benchmark KOSPI climbed 0.63% to around 5,334 on Wednesday, marking a third straight session of gains, driven by strength in auto and financial stocks. Hyundai Motor (+4.89%) and Kia Corp (+4.07%) led the advance in automakers, while KB Financial (+3.60%), Shinhan Financial (+1.94%), and Hana Financial (+3.23%) underpinned gains in the banking sector. In contrast, major semiconductor names declined, with Samsung Electronics slipping 0.48% and SK Hynix losing 1.37%.

Investors digested a mixed set of economic indicators. Sentiment was initially lifted by robust early February trade figures: South Korea’s exports surged 44.4% year-on-year to $21.39 billion in the first 10 days of the month. That optimism, however, was partly offset by weaker-than-expected January labor data, as employment increased by just 108,000, or 0.4% from a year earlier, the slowest annual growth in 13 months.