Seoul stocks rebound on hopes of gradual tapering

South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday as investors speculate that the Fed's tapering timeline may be slower than expected. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 23.09 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 3,263.88 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($13.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 582 to 270.

Foreigners bought a net 319 billion won, while retail investors sold 338 billion won. Institutions offloaded a net 8 billion won.

The rebound came after local stocks slumped in the previous session over reverberating impact from the Fed's hawkish pivot last week that increased market worries about an early tapering of its accommodative policies.

New York Fed President John Williams noted the recent inflation surge is likely a temporary phase.

"The New York governor's remark seems to have eased the recent extreme spike for safe assets," Shinhan Financial analyst Choi Yoo-joon said.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.13 percent to 80,000 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix closed unchanged at 122,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver lost 1.51 percent to 391,000 won, and giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics decreased 0.94 percent to 846,000 won.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 3.43 percent to 241,000 won, and leading chemical firm LG Chem gained 2.43 percent to 842,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,131.9 won against the US dollar, up 2.8 from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year Treasurys lost 2 basis points to 1.331 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bond added 1 basis point to 1.684 percent. (Yonhap)