Seoul shares reach another record high
The Kospi added 7.71 points, or 0.33 percent, to reach an all-time high of 2,311.74. Trade volume was slim at 336.77 million shares worth 5.52 trillion won ($4.9 billion), with advancers far outnumbering losers 518 to 280.
Institutions bought a net 28.1 billion won worth of stocks, while foreigners and individuals were net sellers by offloading 5.36 billion won and 26.2 billion won, respectively.
Analysts forecast that the Kospi could extend gains for the time being though the upward momentum would be limited as investors may stay cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board, with insurance and bank shares leading the gain.
Tech shares were in negative terrain with top cap Samsung Electronics ending at 2,246,000 won, down 0.4 percent from the previous session. Smaller rival LG Electronics lost 0.61 percent to 81,100 won after hitting a record high during the previous session. Global chipmaker SK Hynix also shed 1.61 percent to 55,100 won.
Brokerage houses and insurers widely gained ground on rosy forecasts that the Kospi will continue to rise. Samsung Life Insurance gained 1.26 percent to 281,000 won.
The secondary Kosdaq rose for four straight sessions thanks to foreign investors who net bought Korean shares. CJ E&M pushed up 1.41 percent to 79,100 won. Top pharmaceuticals on the list were slightly down compared to the previous day, with Celltrion down 0.43 percent to 93,500 won and Medytox having lost 0.84 percent to 505,700 won.
The local currency weakened 0.5 percent to 1,124.20 won against the U.S. dollar.
BY YONHAP, SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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