South Korean shares extended their winning streak for a third session on Tuesday, led by major chip stocks and tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street amid renewed optimism over AI.
U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining 2.3% to hit a record high. The S&P 500 rose 1.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.7%.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, increased by 10.19 points, or about 0.2%, to close at 7,017.91. The Kosdaq fell by 1.89 points, or 0.23%, to close at 834.38.
In economic news, the delinquency rate on won-denominated loans at South Korea's domestic banks rose to 0.63% in July from 0.57% a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the Financial Supervisory Service.
Business loan delinquencies climbed to 0.78% in July from 0.67% in July 2025. Large-company loans rose to 0.36% from 0.14%, while SME loans increased to 0.91% from 0.82%. Household loan delinquency fell to 0.42% from 0.43%.
The volume of newly delinquent loans increased by 600 billion won on a month-on-month basis in July, while that of resolved loans declined by 3.9 trillion won, the regulator said.
In corporate news, pharmaceutical company Boryung (KRX:003850) secured a supply agreement for taxotere exports from China's Yifan Pharmaceutical (SHE:002019), according to a Tuesday filing with the Korea Exchange.
The contract is valued at 383.65 billion won and is valid till Sept. 20, 2033.
Shares of Boryung rose nearly 1% at market close.