Seoul shares up for 6th day on hopes of U.S. debt ceiling deal

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Seoul shares up for 6th day on hopes of U.S. debt ceiling deal

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,557.08 points on Monday, up 0.76 percent, or 19.29 points, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,557.08 points on Monday, up 0.76 percent, or 19.29 points, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks ended markedly higher Monday, extending their winning streak to a sixth session as investors were optimistic about a deal on the United States' debt ceiling to avoid a federal default. The won rose against the dollar.
 
The Kospi added 19.29 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 2,557.08. Trading volume was a bit slim at 583.13 million shares worth 8.04 trillion won ($6.09 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 634 to 235.
 
Institutions and overseas investors bought a net 534.03 billion won and 246.32 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors sold a net 787.95 billion won worth of shares.
 
Eyes are on the upcoming talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday to seek a breakthrough regarding their debt ceiling negotiations after the talks fell through last week.
 
Investors are also watching the monetary policy direction of the Federal Reserve.
 
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that interest rates may not have to rise as much as expected to quell inflation. Experts widely expect the Fed to take a break from its aggressive tightening in its June rate-setting meeting.
 
"Despite lingering uncertainties in the macroeconomic circumstances, investors expect a turnaround in the semiconductor market and its impact on the sentiment," Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said.
 
In Seoul, tech and auto shares led the gain.
 
Samsung Electronics rose 0.15 percent to 68,500 won, and SK hynix jumped 0.92 percent to 98,200 won.
 
Battery maker LG Energy Solution surged 1.45 percent to 560,000 won, and LG Chem added 0.29 percent to 700,000 won.
 
Hyundai Motor advanced 0.97 percent to 207,500 won, and Kia rose 0.11 percent to 88,900 won.
 
Among decliners, Naver fell 0.69 percent to 215,000 won, and Kakao remained unchanged at 57,900 won.
 
The local currency ended at 1,318.1 won against the dollar, down 8.6 won from the previous session's close.
 
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds dropped 2.4 basis points to 3.321 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds added 3.3 basis points to 3.681 percent.
 

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