Kospi erases early falls, but won weakens
Korean stocks closed 0.56 percent higher yesterday as strong foreign and retail buying buoyed the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Kospi added 7.39 points to 1,336.39, reversing earlier falls. Volume was moderate at 556.19 million shares worth 5.82 trillion won ($4.36 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 492 to 337.
“Continued foreign buying coupled with solid retail purchases helped the key index finish in positive territory after it underwent volatile trading,” said Kwak Jung-bo, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.
Overseas investors increased holdings of local shares for a third day. Financial shares led the overall market gain as investors picked them up on bargain hunting. KB Financial Group, which controls top lender Kookmin Bank, surged 4.05 percent to 38,500 won, and Woori Finance Holding, the parent to Woori Bank, spiked 6.59 percent to end at 9,710 won.
NHN, the operator of Korea’s largest Internet portal, Naver, jumped 7.47 percent to 165,500 won, curbing three days of heavy falls on upbeat second-quarter earnings projections. Market leader Samsung Electronics, however, finished down 0.84 percent at 592,000 won, with LG Electronics shedding 0.47 percent to 105,000 won as investors locked in profits from a recent IT rally.
Korea’s won weakened for the first time in three days, as importers may have taken advantage of six straight weekly gains to pay bills. Bonds rose. The local currency finished at 1,335 won to the dollar, down 3 won from Friday’s close, dealers said. It touched a three-month high of 1,298.05 on April 10.
Investors pumped more money into emerging-market shares in each of the six weeks through April 15, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts-based EPFR Global, a research company that tracks $11 trillion of funds.
“There is a not insignificant number of import deals coming in,” said Roh Sang-chil, a currency dealer with Kookmin Bank in Seoul. “But the won is supported as foreigners remained net buyers of stocks, supplying the market with foreign exchange.”
BKorean stocks closed 0.56 percent higher yesterday as strong foreign and retail buying buoyed the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Kospi added 7.39 points to 1,336.39, reversing earlier falls. Volume was moderate at 556.19 million shares worth 5.82 trillion won ($4.36 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 492 to 337.
“Continued foreign buying coupled with solid retail purchases helped the key index finish in positive territory after it underwent volatile trading,” said Kwak Jung-bo, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.
Overseas investors increased holdings of local shares for a third day. Financial shares led the overall market gain as investors picked them up on bargain hunting. KB Financial Group, which controls top lender Kookmin Bank, surged 4.05 percent to 38,500 won, and Woori Finance Holding, the parent to Woori Bank, spiked 6.59 percent to end at 9,710 won.
NHN, the operator of Korea’s largest Internet portal, Naver, jumped 7.47 percent to 165,500 won, curbing three days of heavy falls on upbeat second-quarter earnings projections. Market leader Samsung Electronics, however, finished down 0.84 percent at 592,000 won, with LG Electronics shedding 0.47 percent to 105,000 won as investors locked in profits from a recent IT rally.
Korea’s won weakened for the first time in three days, as importers may have taken advantage of six straight weekly gains to pay bills. Bonds rose. The local currency finished at 1,335 won to the dollar, down 3 won from Friday’s close, dealers said. It touched a three-month high of 1,298.05 on April 10.
Investors pumped more money into emerging-market shares in each of the six weeks through April 15, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts-based EPFR Global, a research company that tracks $11 trillion of funds.
“There is a not insignificant number of import deals coming in,” said Roh Sang-chil, a currency dealer with Kookmin Bank in Seoul. “But the won is supported as foreigners remained net buyers of stocks, supplying the market with foreign exchange.”
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The return on three-year Treasuries fell 0.02 percentage point to 3.70 percent, and the benchmark yield on five-year government bonds lost 0.06 percentage point to 4.32 percent.
Yonhap, Bloomberg
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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