Market recovers due to retailers’ buying
Foreign and retail investors shied away from buying yesterday as the stock market opened with international variables looming later in the week. A two-day U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting starts Tuesday, local time, and Scotland’s independence poll will take place on Thursday.But thanks to retail investors’ push, Korean shares rebounded.
The benchmark Kospi rose 7.1 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,042.92 points. Retail investors net purchased 152.8 billion won ($147.6 million), while others offloaded.
IT shares were mixed. The market’s largest tech company, Samsung Electronics, added 0.5 percent to 1.2 million won. LG Electronics gained 0.41 percent to 73,100 won. LG Display remained the same at 35,150 won, despite passing 35,600 at midday. SK Hynix advanced 1.64 percent to 43,500 won.
Most automobile shares advanced, but two major shares were down. Hyundai Motor dropped 0.46 percent to 218,500 won and Kia Motors fell 1.83 percent to 59,000 won.
As for chemical shares, LG Chem dipped 0.37 percent to 266,500 won. Lotte Chemical also dropped 0.88 percent to 169,000 won.
Posco lost 1.96 percent to 350,000 won. Hyundai Steel, however, inched up 0.64 percent to 78,800 won.
Meanwhile, some shares had an unusually bright day. Daum, the nation’s second-largest search engine, stopped its six-day drop, gaining 2.4 percent to 149,200 won. Rival Naver advanced 2.39 percent to 727,000 won. Korea’s major cosmetics company, AmorePacific, soared for a second day to 2.2 million won, up 3.38 percent.
The won strengthened to 1,036.7 per dollar at the close, according to Korea Exchange Bank.
Meanwhile, government bonds gained, pushing the three-year yield to a record low. The yield on the 2.75 percent notes due June 2017 declined 0.05 percentage point to 2.36 percent, Korea Exchange prices showed.
“[Finance Minister Choi Kyung-Hwan’s] comments made investors convinced that there will be an additional rate cut,” said Shin Hong-sup, a fixed-income analyst at Samsung Securities. “His concern over the weak yen also boosted expectations for further easing of monetary policy.”
BY KIM EUN-JI, BLOOMBERG [eunjik@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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