SEOUL, March 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korean stocks made the first rebound in three sessions Tuesday on expectations for stimulus measures from countries affected by COVID-19.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 8.16 points, or 0.42 percent, to settle at 1,962.93. Trading volume stood at 628.2 million shares worth 8.9 trillion won (7.5 billion U.S. dollars).
After plunging over 4 percent in the previous day, the KOSPI turned around amid expectations for stimulus package from the United States and other countries affected by the virus.
The U.S. Federal Reserve had an emergency meeting last week, slashing its target rate by 50 basis points to a range of 1.00-1.25 percent in its first emergency move since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Expectations ran high for the Fed to take additional steps such as the market liquidity supply via quantitative easing or for the U.S. administration's payroll tax cut.
The South Korean government unveiled 11.7 trillion won (9.8 billion U.S. dollars) of supplementary budget last week to bolster private consumption and help fight against COVID-19.
Signs of a slowing trend in the daily infected patients were seen in East Asia, while infections recently grew sharply across Europe.
South Korea reported 131 more COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total number to 7,513. It was the slowest daily increase in two weeks and far below the daily growth of 500 or more last week.
Chinese stocks climbed 1.82 percent amid the spreading views that the COVID-19 outbreak in China actually entered an ending phase, Yonhap news agency reported.
Large-cap shares gained ground. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.7 percent, and memory chip giant SK Hynix advanced 2.5 percent. The most-used search engine Naver went up 2.4 percent, and biopharmaceutical behemoth Celltrion jumped 4 percent.
South Korea's currency finished at 1,193.2 won against the greenback, up 11.0 won from the previous close.
Bond prices ended lower. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes gained 4.4 basis point to 1.082 percent, and the return on the 10-year government bonds picked up 6.9 basis points to 1.355 percent.
