Stocks largely unchanged as U.S. jobs data eases recession fears

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,493.10 points on Monday, up 2.30 points, or 0.09 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks ended almost flat after a weak start Monday, as upbeat U.S. jobs data helped ease recession fears despite worries over the U.S. Federal Reserve's drastic rate hike. The local currency lost ground against the dollar.

The Kospi added 2.3 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,493.10, in choppy trading that started off some 0.4 percent lower at the opening bell.

Trading volume was moderate at 409.1 million shares worth 7.41 trillion won ($5.67 billion), with gainers slightly outpacing decliners 422 to 409.

Foreigners bought a net 173.2 billion won worth of stock and retail investors a net 80.9 billion won. Institutions offloaded a net 296.4 billion won worth of stocks.

"The stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report helped ease recession fears, capping the decline in stock markets," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

"This is a positive factor for the market, but the stronger dollar continues to weigh on tech stocks, especially the secondary battery shares," Seo said.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended lower Friday, after the latest U.S. nonfarm payroll data showed an employment expansion in July that was far larger than expected. The upbeat data raised the possibility that the Fed will push ahead with another 0.75 percentage-point rate hike at its next meeting in September.

In Seoul, stocks closed mixed.

Samsung Electronics fell 1.14 percent to 60,800 won, with SK hynix dipping 2.23 percent to 96,300 won. Samsung SDI lost 0.17 percent to 597,000 won, and HMM retreated 3.65 percent to 25,050 won.

Hyundai Motor rose 0.77 percent to 196,000 won, and Posco Holdings gained 0.21 percent to 240,000 won. Celltrion climbed 3.3 percent to 203,500 won.

The local currency ended at 1,306.40 won against the dollar, up 8.1 won from Friday's close.

The Kosdaq lost 0.78 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 830.86 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 5.6 basis points to 3.136 percent, and the yield on the 10-year government bond advanced 13.7 basis points to 2.83 percent.

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