The South Korean stock market rose for a third day on Thursday, as Wall Street's gains overnight bolstered investor sentiment. At 9:15 p.m. ET, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI was up 21.7 points or 2.1% at 1,051.4.
In the currency market, the South Korean won was trading at 1,484.1 a U.S. dollar, down from Wednesday's close of 1,478.1 a dollar. The decline came after the won opened higher on news reports that South Korea posted a record-high current account surplus in October and that the central bank will borrow US$4 billion from the Federal Reserve next week under a currency swap deal aimed at providing dollars to cash-strapped local banks.
The current account surplus touched US$4.91 billion in October compared to a deficit of US$1.35 billion in the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a report. The monthly surplus is the biggest since 1980 when the central bank began to compile related data.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed up on renewed hopes that the government will bail out struggling automakers. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 2.9%, rising for a fourth straight session, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index climbed 4.6%.
Crude oil rose after China, the world's second-biggest energy-consuming country, cut interest rates by the most in 11 years to bolster economic growth. The gain came despite bearish U.S. government inventory report, which showed an unexpectedly large rise in crude stocks last week. Oil for January delivery jumped $3.67, or 7.2%, to settle at $54.44 a barrel. In the Asian session Thursday, oil was down $1.17 at $53.27 a barrel by 9:08 p.m. ET.
In the tech space, Hynix Semiconductors surged 7.7%, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 2.3%, LG Display gained 4.2% and LG Electronics climbed 3.4%.
Automaker Hyundai Motor and top steelmaker POSCO jumped 4.1% each.
Financial stocks were higher, with Shinhan Financial Group gaining 2.4%, KB Financial Group climbing 4.7%, Mirae Assets & Securities jumping 2.1% and Woori Finance advancing 4.9%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.