Stablecoins could save South Korean merchants up to $3.8 billion a year, budget office says

South Korean shares surged nearly 2% on Tuesday, reaching their highest level in three weeks, propelled by strong gains in major chipmakers. The KOSPI index climbed 133.95 points, or 1.91%, to 7,129.34, extending its winning streak to four days straight and hitting the highest intraday level since mid-August. Wall Street remained closed on Monday for a public holiday.

Analyst Han Ji-young from Kiwoom Securities noted that concerns over the sustainability of AI investment funds were easing, alleviating pressure on the semiconductor sector from the previous month. South Korea's economy expanded by 0.6% in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, as revised data from the central bank revealed, remaining unchanged from the earlier estimate in late July.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both leading chipmakers, lifted the benchmark index higher, with Samsung Electronics up 2.59% and SK Hynix rising 3.98%. Other notable movers included LG Energy Solution, which declined 1.38%, and Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp, both down 0.64% and 0.47%, respectively. POSCO Holdings slipped 0.15%, while Samsung BioLogics fell 0.41%.

Out of the 909 traded issues, 405 shares rallied, while 452 fell. Foreign investors bought shares worth 129.1 billion won ($96.51 million) in total. The South Korean won appreciated 0.73% against the dollar, closing at 1,336.9 per dollar onshore. In money and debt markets, futures for three-year treasury bonds rose 0.07 point to 103.19, with the three-year bond yield falling 0.7 basis points to 3.877%. The benchmark 10-year yield dipped 1.5 basis points to 4.366%.