Seoul stocks soar nearly 1.5% on chip bargain hunting; won at 8-month low
Employees work in the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Korean stocks climbed by almost 1.5 percent Wednesday, as investors went bargain hunting for semiconductors. The Korean won dropped to an eight-month low against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 57.28 points, or 1.43 percent, to 4,056.41.
The KOSPI recovered to the 4,000 level after sliding to a nine-day low the previous session.
Trade volume was moderate at 354.2 million shares worth 12.7 trillion won ($8.6 billion). Winners outnumbered losers 531 to 343.
"The KOSPI's rise was led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Without their advances, the KOSPI would have remained weak," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said.
Lee warned that short-term volatility, citing persisting foreign exchange risks and continued sell-off from foreign investors, may increase.
Foreigners sold off a net 28.9 billion won. Institutional investors purchased a net 335.7 billion won, while retail investors offloaded a net 337.7 billion won.
Large-cap shares ended mixed.
Market top-cap Samsung Electronics rose 4.96 percent to 107,900 won, and its chipmaking rival moved up 3.96 percent to 551,000 won.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution slipped 0.6 percent to 415,500 won, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor closed unchanged at 286,000 won. Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace inched down 0.57 percent to 870,000 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,479.8 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 2.8 won from the previous session's close. It marked the lowest level since April 9, when the won closed at 1,484.1 won against the greenback.
Foreign exchange authorities are said to have activated a currency swap with the country's pension operator, a move that came after the two extended the $65 billion currency swap deal by one year.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 0.3 basis point to 2.996 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds shed 1.7 basis points to 3.227 percent.