According to Yonhap, the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) said the amount of securities settlements and other capital market-related funds it handled in South Korea rose about 18% in the first half of the year, helped by a stock market rally. KSD processed 53,129 trillion won ($36.13 trillion) in January-June, up 17.7% from a year earlier. The total included stock and bond settlements as well as other funds tied to KSD's business, with securities transaction settlements accounting for 49,792 trillion won of the sum. The daily average amount of funds processed by KSD came to 442 trillion won, up 15% from a year earlier.