Stocks gain for a 6th day after dovish Fed comments

A screen capture shows the Kospi closing at 3,143.26, up 5.85 points, or 0.19 percent from the previous trading day. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Stocks gained for a sixth consecutive session Thursday amid hope for a global economic recovery. The won fell against the dollar.

After choppy trading, the benchmark Kospi rose 5.85 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 3,143.26.

Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($15 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 487 to 352.

Foreigners bought a net 109 billion won, while institutions sold 479 billion won. Retail investors purchased a net 362 billion won.

The Kospi got off to a slow start, following the Federal Reserve's overnight reiteration that it would continue existing support despite positive economic data.

"The recent gain (on the Kospi) led to a mild profit-taking move," Samsung Securities analyst Seo Jeong-hoon said. "But continued dovish signals from the Fed would eventually help build up hopes for economic recovery," he noted.

By sector, auto and bio stocks advanced while tech retreated.

Samsung Electronics lost 1.05 percent to 84,700 won, while chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.35 percent to 144,000 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.65 percent to 231,500 won, with Kia adding 2.11 percent to 87,100 won.

Internet portal operator Naver retreated 0.78 percent to 381,500 won, but Kakao hiked 1.11 percent to 548,000 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem edged down 0.12 percent to 810,000 won and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI gained 0.46 percent to 657,000 won. SK Innovation added 4.73 percent to 243,500 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics declined 0.26 percent to 763,000 won, with Celltrion moving up 1.8 percent to 311,500 won. Samsung Bioscience added 9.61 percent to 11,000 won

Online game maker NCSoft rose 3.57 percent to 899,000 won, while its rival Netmarble lost 0.39 percent to 128,000 won.

The Kosdaq gained 8.80 points, or 0.90 percent to close at 982.02.

The local currency closed at 1,117.2 won against the dollar, up 0.9 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year trasuries lost 3.1 basis points to 1.150 percent, and the yield on the benchmark ten-year government bond added 1.6 basis points to 1.67 percent.

BY LEE TAE-HEE, YONHAP [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]