Stocks rise for a second day, with steelmakers leading

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,735.05 points on Wednesday, up 25.05 points, or 0.92 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks extended their winning streak to a second session Wednesday as institutional investors picked up large-cap steel and tech shares. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 25.05 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 2,735.05 points.

Trading volume was moderate at 870.73 million shares worth 11.7 trillion won ($9.64 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 529 to 300.

Institutions bought a net 233 billion won, and foreigners picked up 60 billion won, while retail investors offloaded a net 299 billion won.

Investor sentiment was buoyed by the strong performance of U.S. shares, as traders digested concerns over faster-than-expected interest rate hikes by the U.S. Fed to rein in inflation.

"The Federal Reserve's hawkish stance is not quite new, so investors appear to have brushed it off," Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst of Eugene Investment & Securities, said.

Steel shares gathered ground to lead the overall gains, as the ongoing crisis surrounding Ukraine has taken a toll on European steelmakers.

Steelmaker Posco Holdings spiked 4.61 percent to 306,500 won, and Hyundai Steel rose 6.72 percent to 42,850 won. Dongkuk Steel soared 4.93 percent to 18,100 won.

KB Financial Group jumped 4.27 percent to 61,100 won, and Kakao Bank advanced 2.75 percent to 52,300 won.

Naver advanced 1.77 percent to 345,500 won, while Kakao closed unchanged at 106,500 won.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.28 percent to 70,500 won, and battery maker LG Energy Solution went up 2.39 percent to 407,000 won.

Chipmaker SK hynix closed flat at 123,500 won, and LG Electronics shed 0.81 percent to 123,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,213.80 won against the U.S. dollar, down 4.3 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 5.90 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 930.57 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 2.8 basis points to 2.427 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond added 9.1 basis points to 2.38 percent.

BY YONHAP, SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]