South Korean shares hit near 9-month high on Wall Street boost

SEOUL, May 28 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares on Wednesday hit a near nine-month high, boosted by Wall Street's overnight rally after the U.S. delayed tariffs on the European Union.

The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was up 43.92 points, or 1.67%, at 2,681.14, as of 0202 GMT. The index rose as much as 2% to its highest intraday level since September 3 earlier in the session.

Wall Street surged on Tuesday as investor risk appetite was buoyed by U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff respite and an unexpected jump in consumer confidence. .N

Trump paused his threatened tariffs until July 9 on U.S. imports of European goods following a weekend call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The Bank of Korea is expected to lower its key policy rate by 25 basis points on Thursday as economic activity contracted in the last quarter and benign inflation supports the case for easing, according to a Reuters poll.

Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS rose 3.25%, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS gained 2.72%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 2.94%.

Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were up 1.92% and up 0.91%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS added 4.43%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 0.34%.

Of the total 933 traded issues, 643 shares advanced, while 247 declined.

Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 186.6 billion won ($135.72 million).

The won was quoted at 1,375.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.05% higher than its previous close at 1,376.5.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 gained 0.03 point to 107.60.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR fell by 2.0 basis points to 2.321%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR fell by 2.0 bps to 2.703%.

($1 = 1,374.9000 won)