Optimism reigns for 4th day as stocks rally

A screen shows the closing figure for the Kospi in a trading room at Hana Bank in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Stocks rallied Thursday, extending a winning streak to a fourth consecutive session thanks to optimism in financial markets and better-than-expected quarterly earnings by leading companies. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 30.75 points, or 1.33 percent, to close at 2,342.61.

Trading volume was high at about 785 million shares worth some 17.6 trillion won ($14.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 512 to 337.

Foreigners bought a net 162 billion won, snapping a four-session selling streak, while retail investors sold a net 89 billion won. Institutions offloaded a net 75 billion won.

The market continued its bullish run after closing at a nearly two-year high in the previous session.

Investor sentiment remained high despite nationwide downpours and concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Estimate-beating quarterly earnings by Kospi heavyweights Kakao and SK Telecom also fueled market optimism that Asia's fourth-largest economy may have passed the worst part of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kakao retreated 1.75 percent to 364,000 won, and SK Telecom dipped 2.86 percent to 220,500 won on investors' profit-taking drive.

Samsung Electronics fared bullish, as the company unveiled three new models of smartphones. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.93 percent to 58,000 won.

Most other large caps traded higher.

The country's chipmaker, SK hynix, climbed 0.50 percent to 81,100 won.

Chemical maker LG Chem hiked 1.49 percent to 680,000 won, and steelmaker Posco leaped 3.61 percent 201,000 won.

Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, spiked 7.84 percent to 144,500 won, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors jumping 2.55 percent to 42,150 won.

Internet giant Naver rose 2.71 percent to 322,000 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics fell 1.14 percent to 778,000 won, and Celltrion dropped 1.27 percent to 311,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,183.50 won against the U.S. dollar, up 5.30 won from the previous session's close.

The secondary Kosdaq added 6.84 points, or 0.81 percent, to close at 854.12.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year bonds added 1.3 basis points to 0.808 percent, while the return on the benchmark ten-year government bond added 4.6 basis points to reach 0.55 percent.

BY CHEA SARAH, YONHAP [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]