South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to a fourth day Tuesday, thanks to advances in techs and autos. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 1.3 percent, or 34.49 points, to 2,667.07. Trading volume was at 483.9 million shares worth 15.7 trillion won (US$12.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 626 to 257.
Foreign investors purchased a total of 193.9 billion won worth of shares, and institutions bought a combined 330.8 billion won worth of shares, offsetting retail investors' sell-off of 550.5 billion won.
All major U.S. stock indexes finished higher Monday (U.S. time) on upbeat corporate earnings and hopes for a soft landing for the U.S. economy.
In Seoul, most of big-cap stocks ended in positive terrain, except for battery shares.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped, 1.86 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.38 percent.
Top chemical producer LG Chem gained 1.08 percent.
Bio shares gained ground, with Samsung Biologics and Celltrion soaring 4.7 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
Auto stocks also finished in the green.
Hyundai Motor rose 1.73 percent, and its affiliate Kia went up 0.73 percent.
IT stocks logged big increases on the back of U.S. tech gains.
Internet portal operator Naver advanced 2.64 percent, and Kakao, operator of the popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk, soared 7.02 percent. Kakao's fintech arm, Kakao Bank, shot up more than 14 percent.
But most battery shares ended in negative terrain.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 0.54 percent, POSCO Holdings fell 3.27 percent, and POSCO Future M went down 3.42 percent.
POSCO International plunged 6.66 percent after the Korea Exchange issued an investment caution for the stock.
The Korean won ended at 1,283.80 won against the greenback, down 9.2 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 3.4 basis points to 3.647 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds retreated 3.0 basis points to 3.667 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency