Stocks finish up on institutional buying

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Stocks finish up on institutional buying

Published: 26 Jun. 2023, 16:58

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,582.20 points on Monday, up 0.47 percent, or 12.10 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished higher Monday as advances in tech and auto shares led by strong institutional buying led the upturn. The won fell against the dollar.

After choppy trading, the Kospi climbed 12.10 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,582.20. Trading volume was moderate at 473 million shares worth 8.3 trillion won ($6.4 billion) with gainers outstripping decliners 494 to 381.

The benchmark index opened lower on losses on Wall Street amid U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks reaffirming the need for more interest rate hikes at a testimony before Congress last week and investors' woes over an economic recession.

But most of the earlier losses were pared on foreign and institutional buying and the Kospi entered positive territory after the first 30 minutes of trading.

Institutions purchased a net 231.8 billion won worth of local shares and foreigners bought a net 8.6 billion won, offsetting retail investors' sell-off of a total of 222.4 billion won.

In Seoul, most large-cap shares rose across the board.

Samsung Electronics gained 1.12 percent to 72,400 won, and LG Energy Solution added 0.18 percent to 564,000 won.

Hyundai Motor rose 0.3 percent to 200,500 won, and Kia jumped 2.52 percent to 85,500 won.

Posco Holdings climbed 2.04 percent to 400,000 won, and state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation spiked 4.21 percent to 19,080 won.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction surged 6.25 percent on a deal with Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco to build a mega petrochemical plant in the Middle Eastern country.

SK hynix shed 0.09 percent to 113,500 won, and LG Chem lost 0.85 percent to 703,000 won.

SK Innovation dipped 6.08 percent to 171,500 won after the company announced plans to issue new shares.

The local currency ended at 1,306.3 won against the dollar, up 2.1 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds dropped 3.8 basis points to 3.568 percent, and the yield on benchmark 10-year government bonds retreated 5.5 basis points to 3.740 percent.

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