Seoul shares end higher on battery gains
LG Display’s plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is seen in this undated file photo. Courtesy of LG Display
Seoul shares closed higher Friday on battery gains amid a report that the U.S. economy remains resilient. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.33 percent, or 8.22 points, to 2,478.56. The KOSPI has risen 0.2 percent this week.
Trading volume was slim at 285.54 million shares worth 7 trillion won ($5.2 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 549 to 312.
Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 380 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 387 billion won.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent to 38,049.13, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.2 percent to 15,510.50.
The U.S. gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of last year indicated the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected.
In Seoul, battery stocks were lead gainers.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 3.4 percent to 381,000 won, its parent firm LG Chem gained 3 percent to 416,500 won, and battery firm Samsung SDI climbed 3.7 percent to 360,500 won.
Among decliners, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.9 percent to 73,400 won, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix declined 1 percent to 136,500 won, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.7 percent to 187,300 won.
The local currency ended at 1,336.30 won against the greenback, down 0.5 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)