Kospi inches up as foreigners start buying again
The benchmark Kospi added 12.71 points, or 0.61 percent, to close at 2,108.73. Trading volume was moderate at 440 million shares worth some 4.47 trillion won ($3.82 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 447 to 361.
The index remained nearly flat throughout the day after opening a tad higher on overnight gains on Wall Street.
“As President [Donald] Trump tapped two dovish nominees to the Fed, the hope for a rate cut intensified, while poor economic indicators led to the confirmation of continued global easing, pushing up the three U.S. indices to new highs,” said Yoon Jeong-seon, an analyst from KB Investment & Securities.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.67 percent, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.75 percent.
In Seoul, foreign investors turned to buying, one day after they ended a buying streak of six consecutive sessions.
Foreigners scooped up a net 40 billion won worth of shares, while individuals offloaded 23.7 billion won. Institutions sold a net 9.3 billion won.
Most large caps closed in positive terrain.
Samsung Electronics climbed 1.32 percent to 46,000 won, while chipmaker SK Hynix surged 1.59 percent to 70,200 won. LG Electronics inched up 0.39 percent to 76,600 won.
Automaker Hyundai Motor spiked 2.21 percent to 139,000 won, with its smaller affiliate surging 2.40 percent to 42,650 won.
SK Innovation jumped 5.86 percent to 171,500 won, and LG Chem gained 0.84 percent to 358,500 won. Steelmaker Posco rose 1.02 percent to 247,500 won.
Game companies ended mixed. NCSoft remained unchanged at 468,500 won, but Netmarble fell 3.40 percent to 96,600 won.
Bio shares went south. Celltrion fell 1.21 percent to 203,500 won, and Samsung BioLogics lost 1.42 percent to 313,500 won.
The secondary Kosdaq lost 1.77 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 691.27. The index ended lower for two consecutive days as bio shares remained feeble from institutions mass offloading local shares.
The local currency closed at 1,168.60 won against the dollar, down 2.70 won from Wednesday’s close.
Bond prices ended higher. The yield on three-year bonds lost 1.3 basis points to 1.416 percent, and the return on 10-year bonds fell 1.1 basis points to 1.523 percent.
BY KO JUN-TAE, YONHAP [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)