Stocks rise for a second day as foreign investors buy

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,401.92 points on Monday, up 35.32 points, or 1.49 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Shares ended higher for the second straight session Monday, as investors speculate the pace of the Federal Reserve's rate hikes could be slower than expected amid global recession woes. The local currency sharply rose against the dollar.

The Kospi rose 35.32 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 2,401.92. On Friday, the Kospi rebounded 2.3 percent to 2,366.60 after marking a 19-month low a session earlier.

Trading volume was moderate at 501.09 million shares worth 7.52 trillion won ($5.8 billion), with gainers far outpacing decliners 843 to 69.

Foreigners purchased a net 267.3 billion won worth of stocks, while institutions offloaded a net 203.9 billion won and retail investors sold a net 95.6 billion won worth of shares.

Foreign appetite for risky assets partly came back, as speculation that inflation may have peaked eased rate hike fears, analysts said.

"A rebound in the U.S. market last week was an upside factor for the market. And machinery and automotive stocks advanced on the government's plans to revive the nuclear power generation market and robust EV sales in the United States, giving a boost to the index," Noh Dong-kil, an analyst at Shinhan Investment said by phone.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics rose 0.7 percent to 58,800 won. and SK hynix climbed 3.7 percent to 95,000 won.

Hyundai Motor jumped 5.8 percent to 183,000 won, and Doosan Enerbility gained 7.4 percent to 18,200 won.

Among losers, Hanjin KAL fell 0.8 percent to 61,400 won, and SK Telecom declined 0.6 percent to 54,100 won.

The local currency ended at 1,286.50 won against the dollar, down 11.70 won from the previous session's close. It marked the highest daily decrease since May 30, when the won fell 17.60 won per dollar.

The Kosdaq gained 20.30 points, or 2.71 percent, to close at 770.60 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 4.4 basis points to 3.570 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond advanced 4.5 basis points to 3.13 percent.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, YONHAP [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]