Stocks gain on rally led by U.S. tech firms

A screen shows the closing figures for the Kospi in a trading room at Hana Bank in Jung District, central Seoul, Monday. [NEWS 1]

Stocks advanced more than 1 percent Monday, buoyed by rallies in the United States and a rush by local bargain hunters. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 29.29 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 2,308.08.

Trading volume was moderate at about 598 million shares worth some 8.8 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 750 to 123. Foreigners sold a net 64 billion won, with retail investors dumping a net 98 billion won. Institutions bought a net 150 billion won.

Local stocks rebounded past the 2,300-point level after the Kospi's weak performance last week.

Stocks fared well throughout the session, tracking strong advances by U.S. tech giants including Apple, Microsoft and Tesla.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.26 percent to 10,913.56 the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.34 percent, with the S&P 500 adding 1.6 percent.

"A U.S. stock rebound over last week and the recent stock plunge here seem to have sparked a bargain hunting rush among investors," said Hana Financial Investment researcher Lee Young-gon.

Analysts, however, warned that market uncertainties are likely to remain high ahead of the Chuseok holiday that falls from Wednesday to Sunday, as investors may shift to selling mode to take their profits.

In Seoul, most large caps closed higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.52 percent to 58,200 won, but No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 0.48 percent to 82,500 won.

Internet portal giant Naver added 1.19 percent to 298,500 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics gained 1.48 percent to reach 685,000 won, while Celltrion lost 1.35 percent, falling to 255,000 won.

Hyundai Motor, the country's largest automaker, jumped 3.24 percent to 175,500 won.

Chemical maker LG Chem slipped 0.16 percent to 626,000 won, but rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI advanced 2.18 percent to 421,000 won.

The secondary Kosdaq rose 27.63 points, or 3.42 percent, to close at 835.91.

The local currency closed at 1,173.6 won per dollar, up 1.3 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year bonds lost 1.2 basis points to 0.843 percent, and the return on 10-year bonds lost 1.1 basis points to 0.65 percent.

BY LEE JEE-YOUNG, YONHAP [lee.jeeyoung1@joongang.co.kr]