Seoul stocks rise for third consecutive session

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Seoul stocks rise for third consecutive session

Local stocks rose for the third consecutive session on Monday on the back of gains in tech stocks and a massive buying spree by foreign investors, bucking the sell-off trend in other key Asian markets. The won sharply rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi surged 26.11 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,067.85. Trading volume was moderate at 381 million shares worth 4.58 trillion won ($3.87 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 417 to 401.

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The index started lower, but rebounded and expanded the advance as foreigners were on a buying spree of market heavyweights across the board despite the lingering tension over the trade war between the United States and China.

“Foreign traders remained net buyers of local shares for the third consecutive session to help lift the overall market,” said Yoon Jung-seon, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities.

“Although there was no clear upward momentum on concerns over the U.S.-China trade war, foreign buying of undervalued tech stocks helped buttress the local stock market.”

Foreigners bought a net 291.5 billion won worth of stocks, while institutions and retail investors offloaded a net 98.2 billion won and 193.8 billion won, respectively.

Tech shares were among the top performers of the day.

Samsung Electronics jumped 3.06 percent to 43,800 won after its vice chairman, Lee Jae-yong, held a meeting with top executives over the weekend to deal with the weak memory and handset market.

SK Hynix increased 1.99 percent to 66,600 won, and home appliance maker LG Electronics rose 3.05 percent to 81,000 won.

Netmarble, the nation’s second-largest game company, scored 4.8 percent to 120,000 won after it has joined a bid to buy a controlling stake of the holding company of Nexon.

In contrast, Samsung Engineering, a major industrial plant builder, plunged 9.88 percent to 15,050 won on an announcement that it has filed for arbitration over 723.2 billion won in compensation demanded by its consortium partner in the canceled contract to build a power and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.

The secondary Kosdaq gained 1.03 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 697.50.

The won closed at 1,182.1 won against the dollar, down 8.8 won from the previous session’s close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended mixed. The yield on three-year bonds fell 1.2 basis points to 1.575 percent, but the return on 10-year bonds rose 0.9 basis points to 1.691 percent.

BY KO JUN-TAE, YONHAP [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]
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