Kospi inches down as investors choose to wait
The Korean won depreciated against the dollar.
The benchmark Kospi fell 5.26 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,205.63. Trading volume was moderate at 384.23 million shares worth 4.46 trillion won ($3.95 billion).
Individuals sold a net 138.9-billion-won worth of stock and foreign investors sold a net 7.5 billion won of stock. Institutions bought a net 141.9 billion won worth of shares.
All eyes are on the negotiations between the United States and China in Washington this week as the two sides may resolve the bilateral trade war ahead of the March 1 deadline.
Analysts said expectations of a trade deal between the world’s two biggest economies are expected to buoy the main index before the results come out.
Tech stocks were leading decliners, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 0.54 percent to 45,950 won and No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix declining 1.34 percent to 73,700 won.
LG Chem moved down 0.26 percent to 390,000 won and LG Household & Health Care fell 2.16 percent to 1,224,000 won.
Carmakers finished weak, with Hyundai Motor falling 0.83 percent to 119,500 won and Kia Motors falling 1.26 percent to 35,150 won. Auto parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis declined 0.48 percent to 209,000 won.
Mobile carriers also finished down, with KT dropping 0.35 percent to 28,400 won and LG U + closing 0.67 percent lower at 14,850 won.
On the other hand, bio shares ended higher. Shares of leading biosimilar manufacturer Celltrion rose 1.42 percent to close at 215,000 won and Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung Group, rose 1.45 percent to end at 384,500 won. Hanmi Pharmaceutical rose 4.65 percent to end at 485,500 won.
Leading steelmaker Posco rose 2.29 percent to 268,500 won, and No. 1 wireless services provider SK Telecom advanced 0.19 percent to 260,000 won.
The secondary Kosdaq rose 2.72 points, or 0.36 percent, to end the session at 748.05.
The tech and bio-heavy index was lifted by foreign buying of pharmaceutical shares amid the closure of the U.S. stock market.
The Korean won closed at 1,128.20 won against the dollar, up 2.40 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices ended higher. The yield on three-year bonds fell 0.4 points to 1.80 percent. The yield on 10-year bonds fell 0.1 basis points to 2.00 percent.
BY KIM HE-YU, YONHAP [kim.heyu@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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