SK shares rose in early trading on the 11th. The buying appears to follow the company's decision to cancel 5 trillion won worth of treasury shares, which it released.
As of 9:40 a.m. that day, SK shares were trading at 372,500 won, up 6.13% from the previous session.
After the regular session closed the previous day, SK disclosed that it would cancel all 14.69 million of its treasury shares, excluding those for employee compensation, out of about 17.98 million held. Based on the previous day's closing price, this amounts to 4.8343 trillion won, or about 20% of its market capitalization.
Canceling treasury shares typically boosts the stock because it reduces the total number of shares outstanding. Right after the open, SK shares jumped 22.51% and traded at 430,000 won. They have since given back part of the gains.
Kim Su-hyun, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities, said of the buyback cancellation, "It is an amount of capital that could fund mega-sized mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in future growth businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and biotech," adding, "Ahead of the Commercial Act revision, the company set aside all other options and chose the most direct shareholder-return method."