Kospi rallies for second straight day on tech gains

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,138.30 points on Monday, up 48.09 points, or 1.56 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks advanced more than 1.5 percent Tuesday to extend gains for a second day on strong tech gains and as investors' worries over U.S. tapering eased. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 48.09 points, or 1.56 percent, to close at 3,138.3 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 578 million shares worth some 14.7 trillion won ($12.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 845 to 58.

Foreigners bought a net 156 billion won, while retail investors sold 359 billion won. Institutions purchased a net 232 billion won.

The Kospi got off to a bullish start on tech gains, taking a cue from its U.S. peers.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite jumped 1.55 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 gained 0.61 percent and 0.85 percent, respectively.

Investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve may not hurry the timeline for tapering its stimulus amid the spread of coronavirus variants.

"Investors seem to be increasingly anticipating that the Fed's tapering timeline may be pushed back," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Park Gwang-nam said.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics advanced 3.14 percent to 75,600 won, and chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.94 percent to 105,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver moved up 1.86 percent to 437,500 won, and its rival Kakao edged up 0.34 percent to 149,000 won. Kakao Bank dipped 4.9 percent to 85,400 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics plunged 5.25 percent to 956,000 won, and Celltrion fell 0.53 percent to 282,500 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 2.7 percent to 209,500 won, while chemical firm LG Chem lost 1.38 percent to 787,000 won.

The Kosdaq gained 20 points, or 2.01 percent, to close at 1,013.18.

The local currency closed at 1,165.6 won against the dollar, down 8.1 percent from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds added 5.1 basis points to 1.439 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond lost 0.8 basis point to 1.25 percent.

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