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Seoul shares close higher as investors hunt bargains amid geopolitical woes

Published: 21 Jan. 2026, 17:45

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 4,909.93 points on Jan. 21, up 24.18 points, or 0.49 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares closed higher on Wednesday as investors hunted for bargains amid looming market volatility sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's push to take control of Greenland. The local currency gained against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 24.18 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 4,909.93.

Trade volume was moderate at 590 million shares worth 28.8 trillion won ($19.6 billion), with losers far outpacing gainers 711 to 185.

Foreigners bought a net 439 billion won worth of local shares, and individuals sold a net 996 trillion won. Institutions purchased a net 321 billion won.

Seoul shares rebounded after snapping a 12-session winning streak the previous day due to concerns that tensions between the United States and Europe over the Danish territory could escalate into another round of tariff wars.

“With growing concerns over another global tariff war, investors avoided risky assets, leading to uncertainty and volatility in the global stock market,” said Lee Kyoung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities.

“The strong performance of the semiconductor, automobile and robotics sectors, however, remained solid and supported the overall index,” Lee added.

Tech shares traded mixed, with Samsung Electronics moving up 2.96 percent to 149,500 won, while SK hynix slipped 0.4 percent to 740,000 won. Top battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 2.11 percent to 394,500 won.

Hyundai Motor jumped 14.61 percent to 549,000 won, backed by growing investor optimism over its robotics and autonomous driving initiatives, including its affiliate Boston Dynamics' next-generation humanoid robot, Atlas.

Hyundai Motor's smaller affiliate Kia gained 5 percent to 172,100 won, and its auto parts arm Hyundai Mobis climbed 8.09 percent to 487,500 won.

Monalisa, a hygiene products manufacturer, rose 1.81 percent to 2,250 won after President Lee Jae Myung asked the gender minister to review measures to supply women's sanitary pads free of charge to people in need during a Cabinet meeting the previous day.

The local currency was quoted at 1,471.3 against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 0.5 percent from the previous session's quote of 1,478.7 won.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys decreased 5.3 basis points to 3.138 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds fell 4.2 basis points to 3.43 percent.

Yonhap