South Korean Hits Record High as AI Optimism Overcomes OpenAI Growth Concerns
South Korean shares closed at a new high on Wednesday, with technology stocks posting strong gains as investors expected chip demand to remain robust due to the AI sector.The country's primary index, Kospi, opened lower in the day, tracking losses on Wall Street due to ChatGPT founder OpenAI missing internal revenue and user targets in the first quarter. However, local appetite for chipmakers and hardware providers quickly offset the negative sentiment surrounding U.S. software startups.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or Kospi rose 49.88 points, or 0.8%, to end at 6,690.9. The Kosdaq also increased by 4.68 points, or 0.4%, to close at 1,220.26.In economic news, South Korea's bank deposit rates declined in March while borrowing costs also continued to decrease, the Bank of Korea said Tuesday.The average interest rate on new deposits fell one basis point to 2.82% from the previous month, while rates on outstanding deposits also shed one basis point to 2.00%.New loan rates declined six basis points from the previous month to 4.20%, and the average rate on outstanding loans was unchanged at 4.27% at the end of March.In corporate news, Hanwha Engine (KRX:082740) posted first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of 52.9 billion won, up 172% from 19.4 billion won a year earlier, according to a Wednesday filing with the Korea Exchange.The South Korean marine engine producer's sales rose 8.5% year over year to 345.2 billion won from 318.2 billion won.Shares of Hanwha Engine added over 8% at market close.