Futures Higher

Futures are higher in South Korea, 10-year future near session highs, up 22 ticks at 125.77, 3-year future up 7 ticks at 110.83, both contracts rose at the open.

• On the coronavirus front South Korea reported 574 new cases on Thursday, down from 676 on Wednesday. With an aim of achieving herd immunity by November, the authorities have been ramping up the vaccination campaign by importing more vaccines and increasing the daily inoculation cases. A total of 3,530,014 people have received at least their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, accounting for 6.9 percent of the country's 51.3 million population, since the country started its vaccination program on Feb. 26.
• Minutes of the BoK's April meeting were released late on Tuesday (followed by a market closure on Wednesday), the minutes showed members expect export and investments likely to continue to improve, while consumption and employment are expected to gradually recovery. Members were cognizant of risks of another wave of the virus, and also agreed to look through inflation. Inflation in April hit a four-year high data showed earlier this week, rising to 2.3% against expectations of 2.1%.