Kospi rises as investors correct excessive movement a day prior

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,656.33 points on Friday, up 1.05 percent, or 27.71 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks closed higher Friday as investors purchased tech and financial blue chips despite overnight losses on Wall Street, while the Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The Kospi rose 27.71 points, or 1.05 percent, to 2,656.33. Trade volume was moderate at 443 million shares worth 9.93 trillion won ($7.21 billion),with winners outpacing losers 460 to 405.

Institutions and foreign investors combined bought a net 537 billion won, while retail investors unloaded a net 560 billion won worth of shares.

Overnight, Wall Street lost ground as Meta and other big tech companies retreated amid a much slower-than-expected expansion of the U.S. economy in the first quarter. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 0.6 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1 percent.

Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the Kospi apparently gained ground due to the perception of excessive decline in the previous session. The bellwether index fell 1.76 percent on Thursday.

He also attributed the rise to the discussions of a possible bipartisan agreement in the National Assembly to pass a two-year deferral of financial investment income taxes.

In Seoul, tech shares led the overall gains, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.52 percent to 76,700 won and SK hynix soaring 4.22 percent to 177,800 won.

Finance stocks enjoyed brisk trading as well, with KB Financial surging 9.67 percent to 76,000 won and Shinhan Financial jumping 7.47 percent to 46,750 won.

Kia also climbed 1.37 percent to 118,200 won after reporting stellar earnings in the first quarter.

In contrast, battery and energy shares traded lower. LG Energy Solution fell 0.13 percent to 372,000 won and SK Innovation dropped 0.74 percent to 106,700 won.

The local currency ended at 1,375.30 won against the greenback, down 0.3 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, rose. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 1.2 basis points to 3.531 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds dropped 2.3 basis points to 3.602 percent.