Seoul shares end higher Thursday in line with Wall Street gains

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,475.48 points on Thusday, up 47.58 points, or 1.96 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Seoul shares ended higher Thursday tracking Wall Street gains, as institutional investors scooped up large-cap stocks amid concerns over the Federal Reserve's further rate hikes. The local currency fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 47.58 points, or 1.96 percent, to close at 2,475.48.

Trading volume was moderate at 378.9 million shares worth 8.97 trillion won ($6.98 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 671 to 213.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 percent to 34,128.05 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to 12,070.59.

Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 912 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' selling valued at 936 billion won.

Institutional buying helped the main index close in positive territory in today's session, analysts said.

Investors now await U.S. employment data to be released Thursday to take a cue in their future investment directions, following hotter-than-expected inflation data Tuesday.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index data showed prices rose at a higher-than-expected clip of 0.5 percent in January. The Fed said it is not done yet in its monetary tightening to bring down inflation.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks advanced.

Samsung Electronics rose 2.4 percent to 63,700 won, and chipmaker SK hynix climbed 1.3 percent to 92,900 won.

Carmaker Hyundai Motor jumped 3.8 percent to 179,300 won, and refiner SK Innovation gained 3.2 percent to 160,000 won.

Among decliners, wireless services provider SK Telecom fell 4.3 percent to 44,600 won, while Hybe, the entertainment agency behind supergroup BTS, dropped 3.4 percent to 190,500 won.

The local currency traded at 1,284.8 won against the dollar, up 2.6 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 19.25 points, or 2.51 percent, to close at 784.71.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 0.8 basis points to 3.505 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds climbed 5.4 basis points to 3.805 percent.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]