Kospi bounces back nearly 2% on fewer inflation fears

A screen at Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,013.7 points on Thursday, up 55.58 points, or 1.88 percent from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks bounced back nearly 2 percent to recover above the 3,000-point level Thursday as foreign buying increased amid eased inflation concerns. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi advanced 55.58 points, or 1.88 percent, to close at 3,013.7 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 15.8 trillion won ($13.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 664 to 193.

Foreigners bought a net 1.7 trillion won, while retail investors sold a net 1.1 trillion won. Institutions offloaded a net 591 billion won.

The Kospi rebounded after losing ground for the fifth session in a row as foreign buying increased amid a slowing hike in bond yields and the U.S. currency's value.

Overnight, the yields of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury stabilized just above the 1.5 percent mark, soothing investor concerns over post-pandemic inflation.

"In today's expiration day for futures and options, foreign buying strongly increased both in sessions and in futures," said Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Sang-young.

"Local stock prices were also boosted by China's stock gains and U.S. over-the-counter advances," he said.

In Seoul, chemical, bio and tech stocks made steep gains after a weeklong retreat.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.36 percent to 82,000 won, and chipmaker SK hynix advanced 3.01 percent to 137,000 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem jumped 5.39 percent to 939,000 won, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI spiked 8.02 percent to 687,000 won. The country's largest automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.44 percent to 228,500 won.

Giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics went up 4.38 percent to 715,000 won, and Celltrion added 2.63 percent to 293,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver increased 0.4 percent to 373,500 won, with its rival Kakao leaping 4.13 percent to 479,000 won.

Online game maker NCSoft declined 011 percent to 931,000 won, while its rival Netmarble rose 1.27 percent to 120,000 won.

The Kosdaq increased 17.94 points, or 2.02 percent to close at 908.01.

The local currency closed at 1,135.9 won against the dollar, down 6.8 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on the three-year bond lost 0.4 basis points to close at 1.179 percent, and the yield on the 10-year bond decreased 1.4 basis points to close at 1.51 percent.

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