Stocks rise once again following eased concerns of early inflation

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,171.32 points on Tuesday, up 27.02 points, or 0.86 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks ended their three-day losing streak Tuesday, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's comments that helped ease concerns of early post-pandemic inflation. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 27.02 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 3,171.32 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 603 billion shares worth some 11.5 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 618 to 224.

Foreigners bought a net 71 billion won, while retail investors sold a net 959 billion won. Institutions purchased a net 883 billion won.

Investor sentiment ran high throughout the trading, tracking 1.41 percent overnight gains on the tech-laden Nasdaq that followed the comments of the Fed's key officials that the recent price hikes and supply shortages may be temporary.

The Dow Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rebounded 0.54 percent and 0.99 percent, respectively.

"Investor appetite for bargain hunting seems to have increased over tech stocks, leading to the index's hike," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics added 0.25 percent to close at 79,900 won, and chipmaker SK hynix advanced 2.93 percent to 123,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver increased 0.7 percent to 358,000 won, and its rival Kakao gained 1.29 percent to 118,000 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics lost 0.93 percent to 850,000 won, and Celltrion gained 3.82 percent to 272,000 won. SK Bioscience fell 1.53 percent to 160,500 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor declined 0.22 percent to 227,500 won, and its sister company Kia lost 0.61 percent to 81,800 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem closed unchanged at 892,000 won, and rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI gained 1.26 percent to 643,000 won.

Online game maker NCSoft added 1.54 percent to 859,000 won and Net Marble edged up 0.36 percent to 138,000 won.

The Kosdaq gained 13.70 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at 962.07.

The local currency closed at 1,122 won against the dollar, down 5.1 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds added 2.7 basis points to 1.143 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds fell 1.6 basis points to 1.60 percent.

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