Possible airline bailout in U.S. lifts local stocks

A screen shows the closing figure for the Kospi in a dealing room at KB Kookmin Bank in the financial district of Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS 1]

Stocks extended their winning streak to seven straight sessions Thursday, thanks to the massive foreign buying that stemmed from U.S. stimulus hopes. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 5.02 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,391.96.

Trading volume was moderate at about 939 million shares worth some 12.2 trillion won ($10.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 510 to 300. Foreigners bought a net 756 billion won, the largest daily purchase after July 28.

Retail investors sold a net 165 billion won, and institutions offloaded a net 615 billion won.

Foreign buying increased, taking a cue from optimistic signals from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over an airline relief bill being discussed with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, analysts said.

"The U.S. stimulus for the airline and some other industries led the overnight Wall Street rallies and gave local stocks an uptick," Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

Investors' appetite for risk also grew following the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, as some of the committee members implied openness to increasing the asset-buying program to support the pandemic-hit economy.

In Seoul, most large caps closed lower.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.33 percent to 59,700 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix declined by 0.6 percent to 82,900 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics retreated 0.83 percent to 715,000 won, but Celltrion added 0.58 percent to 262,000 won.

Internet portal Naver shed 1.31 percent to 301,000 won, with its rival Kakao slipping 0.39 percent to 379,000 won.

Chemical maker LG Chem gained 1.76 percent to 692,000 won, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI rose 1.25 percent to 445,000 won.

Hyundai Motor retreated 1.37 percent to 180,500 won, while steelmaker Posco advanced 1.46 percent to 208,000 won.

The Kosdaq rose 1.96 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 871.62.

The local currency closed at 1,153.3 won per dollar, down 4.9 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, finished mixed. The yield on three-year bonds lost 0.6 basis points to 0.907 percent, and the return on 10-year bonds gained 5.2 basis points to 0.79 percent.

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