Seoul, Oct 29 (IANS) South Korean stocks set a fresh record high on Wednesday on hopes for the Seoul-Washington summit and a potential supply deal with Nvidia. The local currency was trading higher against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 70.74 points, or 1.76 percent, to close at 4,081.15. Trade volume was high at 461 million shares worth 21 trillion won (US$14.6 billion), with losers beating gainers 564 to 304, reports Yonhap news agency.

Foreigners sold a net 227.3 billion won worth of local shares, and individuals offloaded a net 4361.8 billion won. Institutions bought a net 641.1 billion won.

Investors scooped up tech shares amid reports Samsung Electronics and SK Group may forge deeper ties with Nvidia in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang, who will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit this week, is widely anticipated to meet business leaders during his stay.

“The market focused on reports that Nvidia may sign an AI chip supply deal with Samsung Electronics, SK Group and Hyundai Motor Group,” said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset & Securities.

President Lee Jae Myung also met U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, with the tariff issue as one of the major agenda items.

Detailed outcomes from the summit were not immediately known.

Top tech giant Samsung Electronics increased 1.01 percent to 100,500 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 7.1 percent to 558,000 won.

LG Energy Solution climbed 0.78 percent to 514,000 won, and Samsung SDI added 6.09 percent to 331,000 won.

Leading search engine giant Naver gained 4.74 percent to 265,000 won, and Kakao jumped 6.28 percent to 67,700 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,431.7 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 6 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys remained rose 4.4 basis points at 2.677 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds rose 4.7 basis points to 2.798 percent.

–IANS

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