Stocks surge Thursday ahead of corporate earnings season

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,468.65 points on Thursday, up 40.08 points, or 1.65 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks surged over 1 percent Thursday, as foreign investors scooped up market heavyweights in the run-up to the corporate earnings season. The won advanced against the dollar.

The Kospi climbed 40.08 points, or 1.65 percent, to 2,468.65. Trading volume was moderate at 476.2 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won ($6.58 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 620 to 249.

Foreigners and institutional investors were net buyers at a combined 1.06 trillion won in equities. Retail investors sold a net 1.05 trillion won.

The Kospi opened higher and continued to ascend throughout the session, bucking muted trading on Wall Street overnight, as well as gloomy macroeconomic data from the central bank.

Korea's economy grew at a pace of 2.6 percent last year due to weak exports and corporate investment, Bank of Korea data showed Thursday.

"The Kospi was led by advances in the auto and secondary batteries sector, as foreigners went into buying mode following strong earnings results from Tesla and Hyundai Motor," analyst Seo Sang-yong from Mirae Asset Securities said.

"Foreign investors have been net buyers for 10 consecutive sessions and contributed in improving investor sentiment," Seo said.

Analyst Lee Kyoung-min from Daishin Securities said investors should keep a close watch on the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting, as well as Samsung Electronics' conference call next week, as the two could give hints on the Kospi market's future direction.

In Seoul, most market top-caps closed higher.

Samsung Electronics added 0.79 percent to 63,900 won, while smaller rival SK hynix advanced 0.98 percent to 92,300 won.

Carmaker Hyundai Motor's shares surged 5.55 percent to 174,900 won following its earnings surprise in the afternoon. Its sister affiliate Kia also rose by 6.62 percent to 69,300 won.

Among decliners, bio firm Samsung Biologics dipped 0.38 percent to 795,000 won, cosmetics maker LG Household & Health Care declined 0.68 percent to 727,000 won, and chemical firm Lotte Chemical fell 0.33 percent to 183,200 won.

The local currency closed at 1,230.7 won against the greenback, down 1 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq climbed 6.59 points, or 0.90 percent, to close at 738.94 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 1.1 basis points to 3.274 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds lost 1.2 basis points to 3.446 percent.

BY SEO JI-EUN, YONHAP [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]