Korean stocks track Wall Street gains as tariff fears ease
Published: 05 Feb. 2025, 17:13
-
- KIM JU-YEON
- [email protected]
![A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,509.27 points on Feb. 5, up 27.58 points, or 1.11 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/05/d6319ac2-6bc7-4422-8010-6d45a26c1fcf.jpg)
A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,509.27 points on Feb. 5, up 27.58 points, or 1.11 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]
Shares finished more than 1 percent higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The won was trading sharply higher in value against the dollar.
The Kospi climbed 27.58 points, or 1.11 percent, to close at 2,509.27. The Kosdaq rose 11.06 points, or 1.54 percent, to 730.98.
Trade volume was high at 429 million shares worth 9.7 trillion won ($6.71 billion), with winners outpacing losers 589 to 300. Institutions and foreign investors combined bought a net 99 billion won worth of local shares, while retail investors sold a net 197 billion won.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks were buoyed by eased concerns regarding trade following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pause the imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month.
The S&P 500 finished up 0.72 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq composite added 1.35 percent.
U.S. duties on China have officially taken effect, and China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports. However, market watchers expect both sides will soon engage in negotiations.
“China set the implementation date for its tariffs on the U.S. on Monday while the U.S. has imposed a 10 percent tariff, as opposed to 60 percent, which Trump proposed during the campaign, leaving room for dialogue and negotiation between the two countries,” Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said.
In Seoul, most blue chips gained ground, with Samsung Electronics up 0.38 percent to 52,900 won and chipmaking rival SK hynix jumping 4.03 percent to 198,800 won.
Battery and automotive shares also advanced. LG Energy Solution climbed 3.6 percent to 345,000 won, and Hyundai Motor added 1.74 percent to end at 204,500 won.
Kakao Bank soared 7.28 percent to 22,850 won after reporting record earnings.
The local currency was trading at 1,444.30 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 18.6 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. Three-year government bond yields fell 0.7 basis points to 2.579 percent, while the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds dropped 5.5 basis points to 4.505 percent.
BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)