Kospi inches up, tech shares are favored
The benchmark Kospi closed at 2,370.90, up 9.07 points, or 0.38 percent, in comparison to the previous trading day.
Foreigners were net buyers of Korean stocks, scooping up some 128.0 billion won ($113.3 million). Local electrical and electronics shares were their main targets with foreigners purchasing 134.8 billion won. Institutions and retail investors each net sold 54.1 billion won and 103.0 billion won in stocks.
By sector, semiconductor rose 2.3 percent and transportation gained 1.0 percent.
Another beneficiary of such speculation was SK Hynix. The chipmaker jumped 3.80 percent to reach the record high and close at 62,800 won on Monday.
Top telecommunication provider SK Telecom increased 2.27 percent to 247,500 won. Leading oil refiner SK Innovation went up 1.26 percent to 161,000 won.
No. 1 battery maker LG Chem inched up 0.36 percent to 279,000 won and LG Electronics nudged up 0.12 percent to 86,200 won.
Automakers were mixed across the board. Top automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.21 percent to 167,000 won while its sister company Kia Motors remained fixed at 39,750 won. Affiliate and auto part maker Hyundai Mobis, however, tumbled 0.76 percent to 261,000 won.
The secondary Kosdaq renewed its high for the year, closing at 675.44, up 4.74 points or 0.71 percent, from the previous session.
The local currency closed at 1,132.7 won against the greenback, up 1.40 won.
The yield on three-year government bonds fell one basis point to 1.68 percent. Returns on 10-year bonds, on the other hand, rose one basis point to 2.16 percent.
BY CHOI HYUNG-JO [choi.hyungjo@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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