Stocks rebound as banking crisis fears ebb, rates increase

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2434.94 points on Tuesday, up 1.07 percent, or 25.72 points, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Seoul shares rebounded Tuesday from a two-day loss on the back of the eased banking crisis in the wake of tightening monetary policies in major economies. The won rose against the dollar.

The Kospi advanced 25.72 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 2,434.94 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 516 million shares worth about 8.6 trillion won ($6.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 689 to 190.

Institutions bought a net 322 billion won, while foreigners sold 43 billion won and retail investors offloaded 278 billion won.

The key stock index recovered its two-day losses from concerns about a banking crisis in the United States and Germany, sparked by unprecedented rate hikes in major economies.

Investor concerns eased on news that regional First Citizens BancShares has agreed to buy the troubled Silicon Valley Bank, and the U.S. regulator vowed backing for the deal.

"It is unlikely that the recent banking fiasco would lead to a large-scale financial crisis," KB Securities analyst Kim Sang-hoon said.

The overall gains were led by advances in major tech and auto stocks.

Samsung Electronics added 1.29 percent to 62,900 won, and SK hynix jumped 3.39 percent to 88,400 won.

Hyundai Motor rose 0.57 percent to 177,100 won, with Kia up 1.18 percent to 76,900 won.

Samsung Biologics closed unchanged at 797,000 won, and Celltrion fell 4.67 percent to 151,200 won.

Naver rose 0.10 percent to 199,500 won, and Kakao remained flat at 60,700 won.

The local currency closed at 1,298.8 won against the dollar, down 2.7 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq advanced 5.82 points, or 0.70 percent, to close at 833.51 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 4.1 basis points to 3.259 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds climbed 16.0 basis points to 3.535 percent.

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