Shares rise despite continued trade-war jitters

Finance

Published: 13 May. 2020, 17:43

Shares rise despite continued trade-war jitters

Employees are working at the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-district, central Seoul, Wednesday. The benchmark Kospi added gains by 18.25 points or 0.95 percent to close at 1,940.42. [YONHAP]

Stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors scooped up bargains amid renewed concerns over the trade dispute between the United States and China. The won gained against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Kospi moved up 18.25 points, or 0.95 percent, to finish at 1,940.42. Trading volume was moderate at 608 million shares worth 8.79 trillion won ($7.18 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 426 to 403.

The local stock market got off to a weak start as Republican members of the U.S. Senate vowed to take steps to sanction China on grounds that Beijing has caused the global Covid-19 pandemic.

U.S. President Donald Trump also ruled out the possibility that Washington and Beijing will renegotiate their Phase 1 trade deal, adversely impacting investors' sentiment.

"The rising concerns over the growing trade row between the United States and China was a negative factor for the Korean stock market," Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said.

Local shares, however, rebounded later in the session as investors, led by retail investors, scooped up bargains.

Foreigners dumped a net 318 billion won, but individuals scooped up a net 215 billion won. Institutions bought more shares than they sold at 90 billion won.

Most large cap shares ended in positive territory.

Samsung Electronics moved up 1.36 percent to 48,550 won, while chipmaker SK hynix lost 2.45 percent to 83,600 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem advanced 4.14 percent to 352,000 won, and cosmetics producer Amorepacific added 1.74 percent.

Mobile carriers closed mixed, with SK Telecom falling 1.67 percent to 206,500 won and KT advancing 0.63 percent to 23,800 won. LG U+ added 2.53 percent to 14,200 won.

Leading pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics jumped 4.05 percent to 616,000 won and Celltrion moved up 1.9 percent to 215,000 won.

Food and beverage stocks ended mixed. Confectionery maker Orion added 2.78 percent, reaching 129,500 won, while its competitor, Lotte Confectionery inched down 1.09 percent, closing at 135,500 won. CJ CheilJedang, the food and bio division of CJ Group, moved up 1.57 percent to 292,000 won.

The secondary Kosdaq closed at 691.53 points, up 7.32 points from the previous session’s close.

The Korean won closed at 1,223.80 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.00 won from the previous session.

BY KANG JAE-EUN, YONHAP [kang.jaeeun@joongang.co.kr]