Won surges sharply, stocks rise on tariff pullback
Published: 06 Mar. 2025, 16:47
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- SHIN HA-NEE
- [email protected]
![A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,576.16 points on March 6, up 18.03 points, or 0.7 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/06/67b662c2-0fa4-4e8b-ac07-8ef443b345ca.jpg)
A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,576.16 points on March 6, up 18.03 points, or 0.7 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]
Stocks ended higher for a second straight session Thursday as investor sentiment improved after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled back some previously imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The won's value sharply surged against the dollar.
The Kospi added 18.03 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 2,576.16.
Trade volume was moderate at 600.4 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 485 to 392.
Foreigners and institutions purchased local shares worth 138.2 billion won and 155.7 billion won, respectively, while retail investors unloaded 369.1 billion won.
Overnight, major U.S. shares rebounded as investor sentiment improved after the Trump administration suspended new auto duties on Mexico and Canada for a month and signaled openness to more tariff negotiations.
The S&P 500 gained 1.12 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.14 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.46 percent.
“Market uncertainties seem to have peaked as the U.S. administration opened room for compromise on its tariffs on Mexico and Canada,” Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said.
In Seoul, auto and tech shares were bullish.
Hyundai Motor grew 1.49 percent to 197,600 won, and its sister Kia jumped 2.19 percent to 98,000 won.
Internet portal operator Naver shot up 5.54 percent to 219,000 won, and Kakao surged 4.64 percent to 45,100 won on expectations for their artificial intelligence business.
Financial shares also went sharply up, with Meritz Financial Group surging 3.84 percent to 127,200 won and Shinhan Financial Group rising 3.81 percent to 46,350 won.
Posco Holdings soared 6.87 percent to 295,500 won.
The food sector was also strong with major companies announcing plans for price hikes.
Nongshim skyrocketed 10.65 percent to 389,500 won, and CJ CheilJedang advanced 5.97 percent to 257,500 won.
Samsung Electronics rose 0.56 percent to 54,300 won, but its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 0.36 percent to 192,400.
The local currency was trading at 1,442.4 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 12.1 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended lower. Three-year government bond yields rose 3.1 basis points to 2.594 percent, while the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds rose 3.2 basis points to 4.277 percent.
BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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