Weak won boosts automobile, tech exports
Korean shares closed higher Monday as a continued fall in oil prices and a weaker won buoyed tech exporters and financials.The benchmark Kospi climbed 12.37 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,581.09. Volume was thin at 251 million shares worth 4.29 trillion won ($4.15 billion), with gainers outperforming losers 489 to 315.
“Wall Street’s bullish close on Friday, thanks to the strengthened dollar and falling oil prices, benefited local stocks, especially finance shares and tech exporters.” said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
On Friday, U.S. stocks surged on retreating crude prices, which fell to $115.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 2.7 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index gained 2.5 percent in their sharpest gaining week since April.
Finance and tech exporters led the overall rise. Top lender Kookmin Bank climbed 1.3 percent and its biggest local rival Shinhan Finance Holdings advanced 1.5 percent. Woori Finance Holdings, the country’s second-largest financial holding group, picked up 2.9 percent. Korea Exchange Bank remained unchanged.
Tech market heavyweight Samsung Electronics advanced 2.1 percent. Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-largest computer memory chip producer, soared 5.3 percent, and LG Electronics jumped 3.9 percent. LG Electronics surpassed Samsung Electronics to take second place in the U.S. handset market behind Motorola, Strategy Analytics, a U.S.-based research firm, said yesterday. LG Display was up 3.8 percent. However, the nation’s top mobile service provider, SK Telecom, lost 1.3 percent.
Shipyards and carmakers also gained momentum. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s leading shipbuilder, gained 1.1 percent and Doosan Heavy Industries went up 1 percent. Local auto giant Hyundai Motor added 2.4 percent as the Korean won weakened versus the dollar, aiding the export-reliant business. Sister company Kia Motors climbed 3.1 percent, largely due to robust sales of a series of new cars released earlier this year.
Steel shares, however, were dented as market watchers forecasted a sharp price drop. Posco tumbled 3.3 percent, and its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill slumped 6.8 percent. Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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