Kospi continues winning streak to climb nearly 1%

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,754.89 points on Thursday, up 0.98 percent, or 26.72 points, from the previous trading session.[NEWS1]

Shares finished nearly 1 percent higher Thursday, extending their winning streak to a third session on tech gains. The local currency slightly rose in value against the dollar.

The Kospi surged 26.72 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,754.89. The Kosdaq rose 0.08 percent, or 0.66 points, to 871.33.

Trade volume was heavy at 690 million shares worth 18.9 trillion won ($13.72 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 461 to 398.

The Kospi had opened sharply higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street led by Apple.

The U.S. tech giant rose 2.86 percent Wednesday, one day after it spiked 7.26 percent following its introduction of free AI on its products.

Helped by advances by Apple and other tech shares, the Nasdaq jumped 1.53 percent to reach a new high for the third consecutive session, while the S&P 500 also climbed to a new high.

In Seoul, large caps closed mixed.

Tech shares were among a handful of gainers, with Samsung Electronics surging 2.75 percent to 78,600 won and SK hynix spiking 3.26 percent to 222,000 won.

Naver rose 0.89 percent to 169,900 won, and Kakao added 1.39 percent to 43,650 won.

Other big gainers included Posco International, which shot up 20.11 percent to 65,700 won, while Hanwha Aerospace rose 6.13 percent to 225,000 won.

Battery shares closed mixed. LG Energy Solution advanced 3.27 percent to 363,000 won, while Samsung SDS tumbled 2.91 percent to 150,300 won.

Auto shares ended lower. Hyundai Motor shed 0.37 percent to 269,000 won, while Kia retreated 0.65 percent to 121,700 won.

Bio and chemical shares also tumbled. Celltrion slipped 2.67 percent to 182,600 won and LG Chem fell 1.21 percent to 367,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,373.90 won against the dollar, down 2.30 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 3.5 basis points to 3.272 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds dropped 8.3 basis points to 4.319 percent.

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