South Korean stocks closed higher for the fourth consecutive session Wednesday as cooler-than-expected U.S. producer price data soothed concerns and boosted investors’ sentiment. The local currency sharply rose against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23 points, or 0.88 percent, to close at 2,644.50.
Trade volume was a little slim at 321.4 million shares worth 8.6 trillion won (US$6.3 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 649 to 234.
Foreigners purchased 389.9 billion won worth of local shares, offsetting a combined 430.1 billion-won sell-off by retail investors and institutions.
Overnight, major U.S. indexes sharply gained ground, led by strong performance of the magnificent seven, as softer U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) boosted bets the Federal Reserve will start cutting its rates soon.
The latest PPI also eased concerns the world’s biggest economy may not make a soft landing, but investors are now awaiting the consumer price index and retail sales d
ata due out later this week.
“The KOSPI went up as foreigners purchased local shares on improved investors’ sentiment following the July PPI,” Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said.
Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics advanced 1.45 percent to 77,200 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 2.64 percent to 186,700 won, tracking AI chip giant Nvidia’s rally overnight.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution soared 2.64 percent to 337,000, to also reflect Tesla’s gain.
Its smaller rivals Samsung SDI and POSCO Future M also increased 2.54 percent and 2.44 percent to 323,500 won and 210,000 won, respectively.
Steel giant POSCO Holdings also surged 2.47 percent to 332,500 won, and top chemical producer LG Chem climbed 2.6 percent to 296,000 won.
But auto shares lost ground, with Hyundai Motor down 0.82 percent to 241,000 won and its smaller affiliate Kia down 0.49 percent to 102,300 won.
Samsung Life Insurance plunged 6.17 percent to 88,200 won, and K-pop entertainment agency JYP shot do
wn 7.88 percent to 50,300 won on its poor earnings result.
The local currency had been trading at 1,360.6 won against the U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 9.8 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys dropped 3 basis points to 2.888 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds decreased 3.1 basis points to 2.899 percent.
The South Korean stock markets will be closed on the Liberation Day holiday on Thursday.
Source: Yonhap News Agency