Home > Business > Finance

Korean stocks rise after Fed chair signals confidence

Published: 20 Mar. 2025, 16:57

CHO YONG-JUN
[email protected]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,637.10 points on March 20, up 8.48 points, or 0.32 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares extended their winning streak to a fourth day Thursday on the back of gains in major tech stocks after the Federal Reserve calmed market concerns regarding Donald Trump's tariff war.

The benchmark Kospi rose 8.48 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,637.10. The Kosdaq fell 13.20 points, or 1.79 percent, to close at 725.15.

Trade volume was moderate at 445.75 million shares worth 11.73 trillion won ($8.04 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 544 to 331.

Institutions and foreigners bought a net 67.2 billion won and 546.47 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while individuals sold a net 702.87 billion won of stocks.

The Kospi opened higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the U.S. central bank held interest rates steady.

U.S. stocks rallied as Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled some confidence about the U.S. economic outlook. His remarks helped sooth nerves among investors due to Trump's ever-changing tariff policies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.92 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 1.41 percent.

In Seoul, tech stocks led gains.

Samsung Electronics jumped 2.91 percent to a one-month high of 60,200 won and SK hynix advanced 2.19 percent.

LG Energy Solution rose 1.21 percent to 334,500 won and Samsung SDI soared 5.52 percent to 202,500 won.

Posco Holdings soared 6.24 percent to 332,000 won following news that it would launch a global trade affairs division on Friday to handle a wide range of trade issues.

Hyundai Motor fell 0.74 percent to 202,500 won and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries declined 3.54 percent to 300,000 won.

Hanwha Ocean fell 6.62 percent to 74,800 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,458.90 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 5.5 won from the previous session, the highest since March 4, when the comparable figure was 1,461.8.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. Three-year government bonds' yield fell 2.4 basis points to 2.598 percent, while the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds dropped 5.3 basis points to 4.234 percent.

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