Kospi rises for third straight day on good data

Finance

Published: 01 Jun. 2021, 17:12 Updated: 01 Jun. 2021, 17:45

Kospi rises for third straight day on good data

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,221.87 points on Tuesday, up 17.95 points, or 0.56 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Shares advanced for the third consecutive day Tuesday on the back of strong economic data fueling investor appetite for risk. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 17.95 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 3,221.87 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 15.1 trillion won ($13.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 577 to 272.

Foreigners sold a net 36 billion won, while institutions purchased 653 billion won. Retail investors offloaded a net 614 billion won.

The Kospi got off to a muted start on investor concerns over post-pandemic inflation that may trigger tapering talks in the United States. Key Federal Reserve officials are set to comment on the state of the U.S. economy Wednesday.

Stocks increasingly gained ground, however, backed by strong economic indicators at home and China.

Korea's exports jumped 45.6 percent on-year in May to extend their gains to a seventh consecutive month. China's Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index in May hit a yearly high of 52.8.

"Improved economic indicators seem to have contributed to the Kospi’s gains," Daeshin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min said. "The Kospi has gone up for the past few days, tracking signals on increasing corporate earnings and economic growth momentum."

Samsung Electronics edged up 0.12 percent to 80,600 won, and chipmaker SK hynix moved up 1.18 percent to 128,500 won.

Internet portal operator Naver advanced 1.24 percent to 367,000 won, and rival Kakao increased 3.25 percent to 127,000 won.

Samsung Biologics lost 1.54 percent to 832,000 won, and Celltrion fell 0.73 percent to 272,500 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor increased 0.85 percent to 237,000 won, and chemical firm LG Chem climbed 0.73 percent to 825,000 won.

The Kosdaq gained 2.81 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 984.59.

The local currency closed at 1,105.9 won against the dollar, down 5 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 1.5 basis points to 1.213 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bond fell 2.0 basis points to 1.58 percent.

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