Solid Q2 reports help Seoul stocks to inch up
The benchmark Kospi inched up 1.75 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 2,295.26. Trade volume was very light at 4.29 trillion won ($3.83 billion).
Analysts said Seoul shares struggled in the face of jittery technology and automobile segments, although things looked a little bit brighter as large listed companies reported sound second-quarter earnings performances.
“Up to now, the listed companies’ second-quarter performances were not bad compared to expectations,” said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. “Although the U.S. stock market remained sluggish, the Korean market is expected to log a stable flow.”
Foreigners offloaded a net 71.8 billion won of local shares, while institutions purchased a net 81.2 billion won. Individual investors offloaded a net 32 billion won.
Shares of Samsung Electronics, which saw its net profit slightly fall on-year in the second quarter, backtracked 0.54 percent to 46,250 won.
No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix increased 0.47 percent to 86,300 won while LG Electronics moved down 0.53 percent to 74,800 won.
Financial shares closed bearish, with KB Financial Group falling 0.56 percent to 53,600 won and Shinhan Financial Group losing 0.11 percent to 43,550 won.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.77 percent to 129,500 won and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis moved down 0.65 percent to 228,000 won. Kia Motors remained unchanged at 31,700 won.
Jin Air, a budget carrier under Korean Air, lost 0.83 percent to 23,900 won amid an undergoing hearing which may potentially cancel the low-cost carrier’s business license for illegally appointing a foreign national to its board of directors.
The secondary Kosdaq inclined 5.72 points, or 0.74 percent, to 775.52. The tech and bio-heavy index rose despite the U.S. Nasdaq’s two-day losing streak as investors went bargain hunting for local pharmaceutical shares that had fallen in the previous session.
The Korean won closed at 1,118.70 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.5 won from Monday’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year bonds fell 0.5 basis points to 2.12 percent, and the return on 10-year government bonds lost 0.6 basis points to 2.57 percent.
BY KIM EUN-JIN, YONHAP [kim.eunjin1@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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