Stocks end almost flat Thursday buoyed by battery share gains

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,329.17 points on Thursday, down 7.7 points, or 0.33 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks ended almost flat Thursday, buoyed by battery share gains after the Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting. The local currency lost ground against the greenback.

The Kospi inched down 7.7 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,329.17 at the closing bell.

Trade volume was moderate at 543.5 billion shares worth 9.1 trillion won ($6.4 billion) with decliners outnumbering gainers 552 to 299.

Foreign and retail investors scooped up a net 562.1 billion won worth of shares, while institutions offloaded a net 585.2 billion won.

"Korean stocks had a weak start after Federal Open Market Committee Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed could push the base rate to a higher-than-expected level," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daeshin Securities.

"But foreigners shifted to a net buying mode, especially in battery shares, and added upward pressure to the Kospi," Lee added.

ln Seoul, large caps closed lower.

Samsung Electronics inched down 0.67 percent to 59,200 won, and SK hynix dipped 2.13 percent to reach 82,700 won.

Hyundai Motor retreated 1.82 percent to 162,000 won, portal operator Naver slid 2.87 percent to 169,000 won, and bio firm Celltrion lost 1.33 percent to 185,000 won. Kakao also fell 4.21 percent to 50,100 won

Battery shares, in contrast, ended higher. LG Energy Solution advanced 3.51 percent to 589,000 won, while battery materials maker Posco Chemical jumped 7.07 percent to 212,000 won.

Refiner SK Innovation added 3.27 percent to 189,000 won amid anticipation for its battery-making subsidiary SK On.

LG Display fell 2.27 percent to 12,900 won and S-Oil fell 2.39 percent to 89,700 won.

Samsung SDI rose 1.93 percent to 739,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,423.8 won against the dollar, up 6.4 won from the previous day's close.

The Kosdaq fell 3.24 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 694.13 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds increased 6.5 basis points to 4.172 percent, and the yield on 10-year government bonds rose 5.3 basis points to 4.203 percent.

BY LIM JEONG-WON, YONHAP [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]