Tech shares lead gains on a volatility-free day
The benchmark Kospi rose 11.05 points, or 0.44 percent from the previous day, to 2,496.02. Trade volume was moderate at 7.04 trillion won ($6.54 billion).
Foreign and institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing 212.3 billion won and 82.6 billion won worth of stocks each. But retail investors sold a net 300 billion won, keeping the Kospi from advancing further.
Since the rate increase was widely expected by the market, the index did not show any volatility, analysts said.
On Wednesday, the Fed raised its key interest rate from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent, the highest since the 2008 financial crisis. The Fed rate now exceeds Korea’s rate of 1.5 percent.
Tech shares led gains, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics rising 1.41 percent to 2,589,000 won and No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix climbing 0.23 percent to 88,600 won.
Securities and banks also rose, by 1.4 and 1.1 percent each. KB Financial jumped 1.43 percent to 63,900 won, while Shinhan Financial Group climbed 1.54 percent to 46,100 won. Korea Investment Holdings rose 1.80 percent to 85,000 won.
Among decliners, Hyundai Motor, Korea’s largest automaker, fell 1.29 percent to 152,500 won. Leading steelmaker Posco shed 1.45 percent to 340,500 won and LG Electronics was down 0.89 percent at 111,500 won.
The secondary Kosdaq fell 13.93 points, or 1.57 percent, to 871.62. The tech-heavy market ended in negative terrain when foreign investors offloaded large-cap IT and pharmaceuticals shares.
Foreigners sold a net 8.4 billion won while individual investors offloaded a net 8.6 billion won. Institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing 48.4 billion won more than they sold.
Pharmaceuticals were major losers. SillaJen, a leading bio company, plunged 9.86 percent to 113,300 won, while Viromed dropped 5.44 percent to 227,900 won. Celltrion subsidiaries Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm also inched down, falling 1.83 percent to 107,500 won and 0.80 percent to 86,400 won each.
The local currency closed at 1,072.70 won against the U.S. dollar, up 0.40 won from the previous day.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. Returns on three-year bonds fell 3.5 basis points to 2.26 percent, and returns on 10-year bonds declined 2.9 basis points to 2.69 percent.
BY KIM EUN-JIN, YONHAP [kim.eunjin1@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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