Stocks advance Monday, as institutions, foreigners pick up tech, auto shares

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,371.79 points on Monday, up 23.36 points, or 0.99 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks advanced for a second straight session Monday, as institutions and foreigners picked up tech, auto and other issues oversold in the wake of the Legoland fiasco. The won jumped against the dollar.

The Kospi added 23.36 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,371.79 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 386 million shares worth some 8 trillion won ($5.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 627 to 248.

Institutions bought a net 277 billion won and foreigners purchased 112 billion won, while retail investors offloaded 406 billion won.

Tech and auto companies led the Kospi's hike after a media report that the chair of Boeing met with top officials of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group and Hanwha Solutions to discuss new business cooperation.

Huh Jae-hwan, researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, attributed the Kospi's gain to a technical rebound from the Legoland fiasco that froze investor sentiment in September.

"The Kospi seems to have undone much of the losses from mid-September, when the stock market plunged in the wake of the Legoland fiasco," said Huh.

Financial market volatility had risen in the wake of a recent default of a municipal government-guaranteed debt involving the construction of the Legoland theme park. The incident amplified woes for investors that had already been grappling with uncertainty from global monetary tightening and the economic recession.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics rose 1.35 percent to 60,200 won. Hyundai Motor jumped 3.99 percent to 169,500 won, with its smaller affiliate Kia rising 2.76 percent to 67,100 won.

The won closed at 1,401.2 won against the dollar, down 18.0 won from the previous session's finish. The won-dollar exchange rate fell below 1,400 at one point intraday for the first time since Oct. 6.

The Kosdaq gained 6.59 points, or 0.95 percent, to close at 700.48 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds increased 8.2 basis points to 4.191 percent, and the yield on 10-year government bonds rose 9.0 basis points to 4.268 percent.

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