SEOUL– South Korean shares gained for a third consecutive day on Friday as investors digest the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest rate decision earlier this week, in addition to outlook for local corporate earnings. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 11.52 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 2,480.4 points.
Trading volume was moderate at about 488 million shares worth some 7.9 trillion won (US$6.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 463 to 403.
Foreigners bought a net 586 billion won, while institutions sold 195 billion won and retail investors offloaded 415 billion won.
After a sluggish start, stocks increasingly gained ground in the afternoon on robust foreign buying.
Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.25 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.11 percent.
The Fed raised the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points Wednesday (U.S. time) as expected.
Investors also paid attention to the fourth-quarter corporate earnings and conference calls by large caps, including leading mobile carrier SK Telecom and internet portal operator Naver.
“Earnings calls went on during the trading session, leading to diversifying performances by different sectors,” Mirae Asset Securities analyst Kim Seok-hwan said.
In Seoul, tech, auto and financial shares led the KOSPI’s gain.
Top cap Samsung Electronics Co. grew 0.47 percent to 63,800 won, and leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 0.38 percent to 535,000 won.
No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. shed 1.28 percent to 92,200 won, with chemical giant LG Chem declining 0.3 percent to 674,000 won. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. climbed 1.71 percent to 172,800 won.
Internet portal operator Naver surged 5.67 percent to 223,500 won despite a weak fourth-quarter earnings report, following the release of its plan to launch a new artificial intelligence search service, SearchGPT. Its rival Kakao jumped 4.19 percent to 67.200 won.
The local currency closed at 1,229.4 won against the U.S. dollar, down 9.1 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys lost 7.3 basis points to 3.110 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond fell 7.8 basis points to 3.096 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency