Chip Stock Gains Push South Korean Shares Higher; NC Corporation Adds 5%
South Korean shares closed higher for a second day on Tuesday on gains made by semiconductor stocks as investors aimed to bargain hunt.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, increased by 45.87 points, or 0.7%, to close at 6,345.53. The Kosdaq also rose by 3.37 points, or 0.4%, to close at 857.84.In economic news, South Korea's exports jumped 45.3% to $21.3 billion in the first 10 days of August from $14.6 billion a year earlier, according to Tuesday data from the Korea Customs Service.Imports increased 23.1% to $19.5 billion from $15.8 billion a year earlier, resulting in a $1.8 billion trade surplus.In corporate news, NC Corp. (KRX:036570) reported net income attributable to shareholders of the parent of 124.6 billion won for the second quarter ended June 30, returning from a net loss attributable to shareholders of the parent of 35.4 billion won.Net sales jumped 101.5% to 770.5 billion won from 382.4 billion won, according to a Tuesday filing with the Korea Exchange.Shares of NC Corp. added nearly 5% at market close.In other news, the South Korean government plans to purchase 700 humanoid robots and over 1,000 quadruped robots to actively create an initial market for research and data factories by 2030, the Blue House said in a Monday release.President Lee Jae Myung said that the scale of government procurement would be considerably increased on the basis of demand surveys to build a robot ecosystem, according to the release.The government will establish dedicated research and development for core components such as actuators, sensors, and robot hands, and build a robot foundry in Saemangeum to expand production infrastructure for startups.
