Seoul stocks rebound after international sanctions imposed on Russia for Ukraine attack
Currency traders watch monitors in the foreign exchange dealing room at KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, Feb. 25. Asian shares rose Friday after U.S. stocks recovered toward the end of a wild trading day, as the world, including President Joe Biden, slapped sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. AP-Yonhap
Stocks on South Korea's bourses rebounded Friday from the previous session's dip as investors regained their appetite for risky assets after the United States announced sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The local currency also rose slightly against the dollar.
The benchmark KOSPI closed up 27.96 points, or 1.06 percent, at 2,676.76. Trading volume was heavy at 653.3 million shares worth 12 trillion won, with gainers far outpacing decliners 721 to 168.
"Among President Biden's sanctions measures, there were no mentions of deploying U.S. troops to Ukraine or removing Russia from SWIFT, and that appears to have allayed market concerns," Lee Jae-yoon, an analyst at SK Securities said, referring to the widely-used international banking system.
Russia's removal from SWIFT would greatly hamper the country from continuing global trade and other financing.
Yet, the Ukraine crisis will make the market volatile at least in the short term, as how far Moscow will go in its aggression against Kyiv and the extent of any further sanctions by the West against Russia remain to be seen, Lee added.
Institutional investors scooped up local equities, with a net purchase worth 193.4 billion won. Foreigners and individual investors, on the other hand, unloaded their holdings, net selling 121.9 billion won and 85.7 billion won worth, respectively.
Large-caps gathered ground across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.56 percent to 71,900 won, with No. 2 listed firm LG Energy Solution finishing up 0.84 percent at 420,000 won.
Internet portal giant Naver jumped 3.97 percent to 314,500 won and platform operator Kakao also advanced 4.89 percent to 94,400 won.
Financial and cosmetics stocks ended in negative terrain. KB Financial fell 3.44 percent to 58,900 won and LG Household Healthcare slid 1.46 percent to 942,000 won.
The local currency ended at 1,201.60 won against the U.S. dollar, up 0.8 won from the previous day's close, amid market uncertainties surrounding the Ukraine issue. (Yonhap)