Kospi extends gains for sixth straight session
Stocks ended higher Thursday, extending their gains to a sixth straight session, as investors remain hopeful about a partial U.S.-China trade deal despite the latest news of a possible delay. The Korean won fell against the dollar.After a choppy session, the benchmark Kospi rose 0.14 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 2,144.29. Trading volume was moderate at 418 million shares worth 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with gainers exceeding losers 408 to 391.
Media report have said that China’s latest push for more tariff rollbacks may not allow the two sides to sign the deal this month as planned initially, denting investor optimism.
But the sentiment revived as analysts expected the push won’t likely derail progress toward the “phase one” agreement.
Foreigners turned net sellers, offloading 150 billion won of stocks. But institutions and individuals turned net buyers, scooping a combined 114 billion won worth of stocks.
Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.
Chipmaker SK Hynix rose 0.1 percent to 83,600 won and leading steelmaker Posco gained 0.2 percent to 217,500 won.
Refiners traded higher. SK Innovation moved up 0.31 percent to end at 160,000 won and S-Oil, the third-largest oil refiner, inched up 0.30 percent to end at 99,000 won.
Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung Group, jumped 1.25 percent to 404,500 won.
Automakers were mixed, with Hyundai Motor remaining flat at 123,500 won and Kia Motors edging up 2.29 percent to 43,250 won. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis climbed 1 percent to 247,000 won.
Among decliners, Samsung Electronics fell 0.8 percent to 52,900 won. LG Chem shed 0.3 percent to 316,500 won.
Search engine Naver moved up 2.48 percent to 165,500 won while Kakao remained flat at 151,000.
The secondary Kosdaq shed 3.53 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 666.15.
Won fell against the U.S. dollar to close at 1,159.30 won, up 2.40 won from Wednesday’s close.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on three-year bonds edged up 0.3 basis points to 1.537 percent, and the yield on 10-year bonds dropped 3.0 basis points to 1.83 percent.
BY KIM BYUNG-WOOK, YONHAP [kim.byungwook@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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