Stocks rebound as inflation fears are eased

A screen at Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,043.87 points on Tuesday, up 30.92 points, or 1.03 percent from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks rebounded Tuesday from last week's sharp plunge to end 1 percent higher on eased inflation concerns, but they pared part of earlier gains in the face of profit-taking. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 30.92 points, or 1.03 percent, to close at 3,043.87 points after rising as high as to 3,096.50.

Trading volume was moderate at about 1.7 billion shares worth around 18.5 trillion won ($16.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 481 to 363.

Foreigners bought a net 205 billion won, while retail investors sold 627 billion won. Institutions purchased a net 445 billion won.

Stocks got off to a bullish start after a three-day holiday on gains by market heavyweights, such as chipmakers and automakers.

On Monday in New York, the yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries plunged sharply, soothing investor anxiety over faster-than-expected post-pandemic inflation.

"Investors seem to be increasingly counting on the idea that the bond yields will continue to stabilize," Daeshin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min said.

In Seoul, most large caps closed higher.

Top cap Samsung Electronics added 1.33 percent to 83,600 won, and chipmaker SK hynix gained 2.12 percent to 144,500 won.

The country's largest automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.84 percent to 239,000 won and Kia went up 0.88 percent to 80,100 won.

Chemical maker LG Chem surged 7.22 percent to 891,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver climbed 0.67 percent to 377,500 won while its rival Kakao rose 0.72 percent to 491,500 won.

Online game maker NCSoft edged up 1.07 percent to 946,000 won, while its rival Netmarble stayed flat at 123,500 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics increased 0.4 percent to 753,000 won, but Celltrion lost 2.02 percent to 291,500 won.

Steelmaker Posco rose 1.24 percent to 285,000 won.

The Kosdaq rose 9.23 points, or 1.01 percent to close at 923.17.

The local currency closed at 1,124 won against the dollar, up 0.5 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on the three-year bond added 0.1 basis points to close at 1.021 percent, and the yield on the 10-year bond rose 1.1 basis points to close at 1.42 percent.

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