[Market]Kospi rises a fourth day after Wall Street stands
Seoul’s main stock market climbed for a fourth straight trading session yesterday. The benchmark Kospi finished up 7.07 points, or 0.4 percent, at 1,773.56, the highest in almost three months.“Investor sentiment improved because Wall Street did not tumble despite the disappointing U.S. jobs report,” Eugene Investment and Securities in Seoul said in a report yesterday.
The Dow Jones industrial average shed only 0.1 percent on Friday, though U.S. Labor Department data showed that non-farm payrolls fell by 80,000 in March, the largest drop in five years.
Volume was moderate at 269.7 million shares worth 5.4 trillion won ($5.5 billion). Gaining shares led losers, 466 to 328.
Builders led yesterday’s gain, on speculation that property-market regulations will be relaxed after the general election. Hyundai Engineering and Construction jumped 3.6 percent. GS Engineering and Construction surged 8.7 percent.
Shipbuilders were also strong. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s biggest shipbuilder, rose 1.5 percent. Samsung Heavy Industries, the No. 2, gained 3.5 percent. Rising steel costs and the appreciation of the yuan will help lift new-ship prices, Woori Investment and Securities said in a report.
Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics ended unchanged. The nation’s No. 2 tech exporter, LG Electronics, rose 0.7 percent.
On the other hand, major banking shares were weak on concerns about earnings. Top lender Kookmin Bank lost 2.1 percent. Woori Finance Holdings, the second biggest, slid 2.8 percent.
Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Korea’s biggest power-equipment maker, plunged 4 percent, after UBS cut its 12-month price estimate by 24 percent, citing the company’s rising raw material costs and losses on currency fluctuations.
The secondary Kosdaq climbed 5.61 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 654.10. Volume was 517.1 million shares worth 1.5 trillion won.
By Moon So-young Staff Reporter [symoon@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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