Kospi inert as Fed minutes still weigh on market

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,722.85 points on Tuesday, down 0.01 percent, or 0.14 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares closed nearly flat after choppy trading Tuesday as investors waited for clues over the direction of the U.S. rate decision. The won rose in value against the dollar.

The Kospi edged down 0.14 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 2,722.85.

Trade volume was moderate at 432 million shares worth 11.3 trillion won ($8.31 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 467 to 401. Foreigners bought a net 45.4 billion won worth of local shares, while individuals shed a net 145 billion won. Institutions scooped up a net 111.3 billion won.

Analysts said Seoul shares closed flat as investors searched for signals pertaining to the U.S. key rates and hinted that Seoul shares may gain momentum, considering improving external conditions.

"The sluggish performance of the Kospi, affected by the traditional semiconductor sector, seems to be excessive considering Korea's export data, even if there are issues, including those related with Samsung's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply to Nvidia," Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said.

There have been media reports that Samsung's HBM chips had failed to pass tests by U.S. chip giant Nvidia due to heat and power issues.

Shares closed mixed across the board.

Samsung Electronics moved up 0.52 percent to 77,600 won, and SK hynix added 0.5 percent to 202,500 won.

Battery firms finished lower. LG Energy Solution fell 1.23 percent to 360,000 won, and Samsung SDI shed 2.53 percent to 404,500 won.

Foodstuff makers closed bullish, with Samyang Foods moving up 3.65 percent to 539,000 won and Orion rising 0.11 percent to 93,700 won.

Chemical firm LG Chem lost 1.39 percent to end at 391,000 won, and cosmetics company Amorepacific slid 1.87 percent to 178,400 won.

The local currency ended at 1,358.5 won against the greenback, down 5.3 won from the previous session's close.

Domestic bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 1.7 basis points to 3.483 percent. The return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds stayed the same at 4.466 percent, as U.S. markets were closed for the Memorial Day holiday.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]