Stocks stagnate as investors play it safe

Finance

Published: 05 Apr. 2022, 17:44 Updated: 05 Apr. 2022, 18:24

Stocks stagnate as investors play it safe

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,759.20 points on Tuesday, up 1.30 points, or 0.05 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks closed nearly unchanged Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines amid lingering concerns over high inflation and the crisis surrounding Ukraine. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi added 1.3 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,759.20 points.

Trading volume was moderate at around 1.58 billion shares worth some 9.81 trillion won ($8.08 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 423 to 421.

Foreign investors picked up shares worth 11.7 billion won and individuals bought 238.8 billion won, while institutions sold stocks worth 247.9 billion won.

According to the state statistics agency, Korea's consumer prices grew 4.1 percent in March from a year earlier, marking the fastest growth in more than 10 years amid soaring global energy prices.

Eyes are on the Bank of Korea's rate-setting meeting scheduled for next week. The central bank has raised the key interest rate three times since August last year to tame inflation.

Investors are also awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's minutes from its March meeting, set to be released on Wednesday, during which it raised interest rates for the first time since 2018.

"Investors are worried about the Fed's further tightening amid high inflation, which could hurt growth. The possibility of Western nations' additional sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine also dampened their sentiment," Kiwoom Securities analyst Kim Se-heon said.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.14 percent to 69,200 won, and chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.43 percent to 116,500 won.

LG Energy Solution soared 2.39 percent to 449,000 won, and Samsung SDI jumped 2.56 percent to 600,000 won.

Hyundai Motor grew 0.56 percent to 179,000 won.

Financial firm KB Financial Group tumbled 2.62 percent to 59,500 won, and Kakao Bank slipped 1.97 percent to 49,800 won.

The local currency closed at 1,212.70 won against the dollar, down 1.7 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq advanced 5.15 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 952.47 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 3.6 basis points to 2.877 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond advanced 1.9 basis points to 2.40 percent.

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