Kospi dips as Kosdaq heads for new record
The market opened at 10 a.m., one hour later than usual, and closed at 4:30 p.m., one hour later than usual, due to a nationwide college entrance exam. The test was delayed by one week after a magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit the southeastern city of Pohang last week, damaging some test sites in the city.
The benchmark Kospi inched up 3.36 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,537.15. Trade volume was slim at 248.4 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 499 to 272.
On Wednesday local time, the major U.S. indexes retreated from their latest record highs. The Dow slid 0.3 percent, and the S&P 500 dipped 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.1 percent.
“Momentum for strong earnings were weakened and there are still worries surrounding U.S. tax reforms,” said Kim Sung-hwan, an analyst at Bookook Securities, noting that an upward momentum would be difficult for some time.
Most large caps closed mixed.
Steel and chem shares closed higher, with leading steelmaker Posco closing at 320,000 won, up 2.4 percent. LG Chem, Korea’s leading chemical firm, added 1.08 percent to close at 421,500 won.
Tech shares ended bearish, with top cap Samsung Electronics closing at 2,765,000 won, down 1.18 percent. Its smaller rival LG Electronics lost 1.88 percent to 94,100 won, and LG Display, a major flat panel maker, shed 1.88 percent to 94,100 won.
Auto shares ended mixed, with leading automaker Hyundai Motor adding 1.29 percent to 157,000 won. Its sister company, Kia Motors, stood unchanged at 33,150 won. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis inched up 0.79 percent to 255,500 won.
The secondary Kosdaq increased 15.9 points or 2.04 percent compared to the previous trading day to close at 796.8 on Thursday.
The local currency closed at 1,085.4 won against the greenback, up 3.7 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year bonds lost 3.6 points to 2.134 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds was down 4.2 basis points to 2.320 percent.
BY KIM JEE-HEE, YONHAP [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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