Stocks end higher Wednesday thanks to Wall Street gains

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,386.85 points on Wednesday, up 15.88 points, or 0.67 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks ended higher Wednesday, as investor sentiment was boosted by Wall Street gains and the expected resumption of Russian gas supply to Europe. The won gained ground against the dollar.

The Kospi rose 15.88 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,386.85. Trading volume was moderate at 328.96 million shares worth 7.36 trillion won ($5.61 billion), with gainers outstripping decliners 630 to 228.

Retail investors purchased shares worth a net 65.5 billion won, while foreigners shed a net 41.0 billion won and institutions a net 58.6 billion won.

The market got off to a strong start, jumping around 1.5 percent, after U.S. stocks rallied on better-than-expected corporate earnings.

Investors also welcomed the news that Russia's Gazprom would resume gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline this week, albeit at reduced capacity.

But some of the earlier gains were pared amid uncertainties over monetary policy steps in major countries and lingering woes over an economic recession.

"Shares gathered ground on the back of attractive valuations. The situation surrounding the market has not worsened further recently," Meritz Securities analyst Lee Jin-woo said.

"After major economies deliver their interest rate decision this month, corporate earnings will serve as a key market-moving factor," he added.

In Seoul, LG Chem surged 3.65 percent to 540,000 won, and LG Energy Solution grew 0.26 percent to 384,000 won. SK hynix jumped 2.0 percent to 102,000 won, and Samsung SDI advanced 2.57 percent to 559,000 won. Samsung Electronics fell 0.66 percent to 60,500 won. Samsung Biologics added 0.49 percent to 823,000 won and Celltrion gained 0.27 percent to 184,000 won.

The local currency ended at 1,312.9 won against the dollar, down 0.5 won from the previous day's close.

The Kosdaq gained 8.39 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 790.72 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 9.4 basis points to 3.298 percent, and the yield on the 10-year government bond advanced 3.9 basis points to 3.02 percent.

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