Rises across the board push Kospi to record
The Kospi hit a record high again yesterday after recovering from a short fall. Strong earnings outlooks for machinery, chemical and construction shares pulled the index up, along with positive housing and consumer price data in the U.S. overnight. The benchmark Kospi went up 5.92 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,534.58.“Along with continued foreign buying, investors focused on shares with good earnings outlooks,” said Kim Young-gak, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
Most insurance issues surged about 5 percent on news that Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance is buying back its shares and canceling them. Samsung added 7.2 percent, while LIG Insurance and Dongbu Fire Insurance added 5 percent.
Retail stocks, which gained more than 3 percent on Monday and Tuesday, lost some of their rising power but still managed to advance. Hyundai Department Store, Samsung Corp. and Daewoo International rose, but SK Networks, the logistics arm of the SK Group, shed 3.1 percent.
Korea’s largest steelmaker, Posco, rose 0.4 percent after completing a share buyback worth 1 trillion won (about $1.1 billion) designed to stabilize its stock price.
Builders gained on stronger earnings outlooks, with top builder Daewoo Engineering and Construction jumping 5.3 percent.
Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 1.7 percent to 583,000 won ($628) on disappointing first quarter earnings. Hynix Semiconductor fell 1 percent.
Winners beat losers 408 to 354. Volume was moderate at 345.6 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won.
The Kosdaq ended the session down 0.21 points, or 0.03 percent, to 689.95. NHN, the operator of Naver.com, continued its rise after the company announced a buy-back of its shares.
More than 830 million shares worth 2.5 trillion won were traded. Losers beat winners 540 to 385.
By Hwang Young-jin Staff Writer [yhwang@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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