SEOUL– South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday, with investors weighing the potential rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the volatility in the currency market. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.
After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 21.12 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 2,472.05 points.
Trading volume was higher than usual at about 397 million shares worth some 8.7 trillion won (US$6.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 538 to 281.
Institutions sold a net 270 billion won, while foreigners bought 209 billion won and retail investors purchased 47 billion won.
The KOSPI opened lower in the wake of the Fed chair’s reaffirmation in Jackson Hole that the U.S. central bank would continue its fight against four-decade high inflation. But the index rebounded in the afternoon on strong advances by chipmakers.
“The U.S. dollar weakened in favor of chipmakers and automakers,” Shinhan Investment analyst Choi Yoo-joon said.
“But the U.S. greenback is likely to remain strong for a while, since (Fed officials) are supporting aggressive policy tightening, in addition to the (uncertainties from) the upcoming U.S. jobs data later this week,” he added.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.53 percent to 59,700 won, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix adding 2.15 percent to 95,200 won.
Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.26 percent to 196,000 won, with its smaller affiliate Kia growing 0.87 percent to 80,800 won.
Among losers, leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 0.64 percent to 462,500 won, and bio heavyweight Samsung Biologics slipped 0.12 percent to 835,000 won.
The local currency closed at 1,337.6 won against the U.S. dollar, up 9.1 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys added 4.3 basis points to 3.685 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond rose 3.9 basis points to 3.781 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency