It hasn’t exactly set the share price on fire today, but for Samsung Electronics a warm reaction to its new flagship smartphone is an outcome worth accepting.

The South Korean electronics giant took the wraps off its Galaxy S8 smartphone at a glitzy event in New York on Wednesday as it attempts to put last year’s debacle with the fire-prone Note 7 line behind it.

One of the phone’s big drawcards is its screen, which stretches to the edge of the phone and curves over its sides.

Samsung shares were up 1 per cent on Thursday in Seoul, eyeing their third straight day of gains, during which they have tacked on a cumulative 2.5 per cent. That leaves them just 0.8 per cent below the company’s record high price of Won2.128m, hit on March 21.

Shares are now up 17.2 per cent so far this year, compared to a 6.9 per cent gain for the benchmark Kospi over the same period. The Kospi was 0.1 per cent weaker on Thursday.

The Financial Times’ Anna Nicolaou and Tim Bradshaw have given a run-down of the phone and the launch event here.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
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