Kospi gets fillip from U.S.-China trade war comments

An employee stands in front of the screen with the final Kospi at the dealing room in Hana Bank, in Jung-district, central Seoul, Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Stocks traded higher Tuesday on eased concerns over the U.S.-China trade dispute. The won rose against the dollar.

After a choppy session, the Kospi added 4.51 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,131.24. Trading volume was high at about 906 million shares worth some 13.3 trillion won ($11 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 586 to 262.

Foreigners sold a net 55.6 billion won, while retail investors purchased a net 355 billion won. Institutions offloaded a net 283 billion won.

The Kospi got off to a strong start, led by large tech gains on Wall Street.

But the Kospi trimmed earlier gains on market-jolting comments by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who said that the U.S.-China trade negotiations are "over."

"Navarro's comments raised uncertainties and investor appetite to sell," Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

U.S. President Donald Trump later tweeted that the bilateral trade deal was still "fully intact," easing investor concerns.

Navarro said his words were taken out of context.

In Seoul, most large caps closed mixed.

Samsung Electronics retreated 1.15 percent to 54,100 won, while chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.94 percent to 84,100 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics gained 1.13 percent to 802,000 won, with another bio firm, Celltrion, spiking 7.24 percent to 318,500 won. Chemical maker LG Chem shed 0.40 percent to 504,000 won, and LG Household & Health Care moved up 4.51 percent to 1,321,000 won. Oil refiner SK Innovation added 1.99 percent to 128,000 won.

Naver advanced 2.22 percent to 276,000 won, and Kakao increased 2.74 percent to 281,500 won. Automaker Hyundai Motor edged up 0.20 percent to 98,700 won.

The local currency closed at 1,208.80 won against the dollar, down 7.0 won from the previous session's close.

The secondary Kosdaq was up 1.59 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 753.23.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year bonds lost 1.9 basis points to 0.828 percent, while the return on the benchmark ten-year government bond added 0.6 basis points to reach 0.70 percent.

BY KIM YEON-AH, YONHAP [kim.yeonah@joongang.co.kr]