Semiconductor exports push Seoul stocks up
The benchmark Kospi gained 3.03 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 2,530.70 Tuesday.
“The local stock market closed higher on the back of gains of large-cap tech shares,” said Lee Yeong-gon, a Hana Financial Investment analyst.
Korean exports in November as of Monday went up by 9.7 percent with semiconductor exports skyrocketing 63.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
Foreign and institutional investors were the main buyers of Korean stocks, each net buying 57.8 billion won ($52.9 million) and 220.6 billion won. In particular, foreign investors scooped up local electrical and electronics shares worth 150.6 billion won.
Retail investors net sold 295.1 billion won in Korean stocks.
Movements of large-cap shares were mixed across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.14 percent on Tuesday to close at 2,764,000 won. Another chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 3.53 percent to 85,000 won.
LG Chem, Korea’s top battery maker, pushed up 0.85 percent to 413,000 won. Portal giant Naver nudged up 0.87 percent to 808,000 won and top mobile game publisher Netmarble Games jumped 4.09 percent to 191,000 won.
Samsung SDI, the battery-making arm of Samsung, pushed up 1.86 percent to 218,500 won.
Auto shares closed mixed.
Top automotive company Hyundai Motor edged up 0.32 percent to 157,000 won.
Its sister company Kia Motors, on the other hand, inched down 0.30 percent to 33,650 won. Affiliate and parts maker Hyundai Mobis edged down 0.59 percent to 254,000 won.
KB Financial Group, the largest financial holding company in Korea by asset size, pushed down 2.28 percent to close at 55,800 won. Its local rival Shinhan Financial Group closed at 47,900 won, down 0.83 percent compared to the previous session. Hana Financial Group also tumbled 0.97 percent to 45,850 won.
Shares of pharmaceutical companies lost ground, with Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung Group, inching down 0.76 percent to end at 392,000 won.
The local currency closed at 1,095.8 won against the U.S. dollar, up 4.8 won from Monday’s close.
The yield on three-year government remained fixed at 2.16 percent while that of 10-year bond also stayed unchanged at 2.54 percent.
BY CHOI HYUNG-JO, YONHAP [choi.hyungjo@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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