Nyse Order Imbalance 16791.0 Shares On Buy Side

South Korean shares rebounded on Friday as chip losses were offset by a steel rally after tariffs on Chinese imports.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, was up by 0.52 points, or 0.02%, to close at 2,654.58. The Kosdaq rose 6.38 points, or 0.83%, to 774.65.

Steelmakers led the rally after South Korea announced tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese steel plate imports. Posco Holdings surged 5%, while Hyundai Steel climbed 3.5%.

Meanwhile, economic data released by the Bank of Korea showed a mixed picture of business sentiment. The composite business sentiment index for all industries dipped 0.6 points to 85.3 in February, while the outlook for March improved by 2.6 points to 88. The manufacturing sector saw a slight improvement in sentiment, while the non-manufacturing sector experienced a decline.

In corporate news, Posco Holdings surged 5%, and Hyundai Steel rose 3.5% after the country moved to impose up to 38% tariffs on Chinese steel plate imports.

Japan's Toyota Motor agreed to transfer a $1.5 billion battery order to LG Energy Solution's Michigan plant after General Motors exited their joint venture.

Originally designed to produce batteries solely for General Motors, the Lansing facility is now set for full ownership by LG Energy Solution. Toyota had signed a deal in 2023 for 20 gigawatt-hours of batteries and will now source them from Lansing instead of another LG plant in Michigan.

Shares of LG Energy Solution rose nearly 1% at market close on Friday.

By Kwanwoo Jun

Posco Holdings' shares rose sharply, leading a broad rally in South Korean steel stocks after Seoul moved to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel products.

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy late Thursday said that its trade commission had decided to ask the country's finance minister to impose as much as about 38% provisional anti-dumping duties on Chinese hot-rolled thick steel plates from next month.

Provisional duties of between 27.91% and 38.02% on Chinese steel products imported to South Korea would be needed to protect the potential damage to the local steel industry and the commission is launching a full state investigation into the alleged Chinese dumping, the ministry said.

An anti-dumping complaint by Hyundai Steel in July 2024 against Chinese rivals prompted the South Korean commission to launch a four-month preliminary probe starting in October.

The South Korean steel maker's stock climbed as much as 8.0% to an intraday high of 290,000 won, the equivalent of $202.42, on Friday. It was up 5.0% or more for most of the early trading session, outperforming the benchmark Kospi's 0.5% drop.

Smaller local steel companies Hyundai Steel and Dongguk Steel gained 4.1% and 7.6%, respectively, early Friday.

South Korean steelmakers are seen to be struggling with weak demand at home and abroad. The oversupply of steel products from China has aggravated the industry downturn, they say.

Posco Holdings posted a net loss for the final quarter of 2024, with its main steel business hit by lower product prices and higher operating costs amid weakening sales.

For the full year, the company's net profit nearly halved to 948.00 billion won and operating profit slumped 38% to 2.174 trillion won as revenue fell 5.8% to 72.688 trillion won.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com