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Kospi jumps 1.8% as buyers hunt for bargains

Published: 03 Jan. 2025, 16:48

CHO YONG-JUN
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A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,441.92 points on Jan. 3, up 1.79 percent, or 42.98 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares rose nearly 1.8 percent Friday to end their five-session losing streak, led by gains in chips, batteries and bios, as investors went for bargains amid protracted political turmoil following the short-lived martial law imposition by President Yoon Suk Yeol. The local currency lost against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi gained 42.98 points, or 1.79 percent, to close at 2,441.92, marking the largest daily increase since Dec. 10, when the bourse soared 2.43 percent.

Trade volume was slim at 403.4 million shares worth 8.16 trillion won ($5.56 billion), with gainers beating losers 686 to 206.

Institutions and foreigners combined bought a net 599.2 billion won worth of shares, while individuals dumped a net 697.1 billion won.

The Kospi started falling on Dec. 24 amid escalating political turmoil following Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3, which led to the passage of an impeachment motion against him.

Earlier on Friday, the anticorruption agency attempted execute an arrest warrant against the impeached president over his failed martial law bid, but it halted the mission hours after a standoff with presidential security officials.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. Three-year government bond yields fell by 2.4 basis points to 2.485 percent, while the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds fell by 0.9 basis points to 4.564 percent.

BY CHO YONG-JUN, YONHAP [[email protected]]