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An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap) |
Seoul shares closed higher Tuesday to snap a four-day losing streak, tracking an overnight rebound in US tech stocks. The local currency rose against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 10.78 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 2,774.29.
Trade volume was moderate at 416 million shares worth 11.3 trillion won ($8.15 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 494 to 365.
Foreign investors purchased 241.2 billion won worth of local shares, while retail investors and institutions unloaded stocks worth 190.7 billion won and 23.6 billion won, respectively.
Overnight, major US indexes gained ground as big-cap tech shares, including Nvidia, ASML, Microsoft and Alphabet, rebounded after their slump last week.
Analysts said blue chip shares rebounded following a slump last week, but investors remained cautious ahead of the earnings release of major companies.
In Seoul, tech and auto shares led the market advance.
Top cap Samsung Electronics rose 1.08 percent to 83,900 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix was flat at 205,000 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 3.33 percent to 263,500 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia soared 3.97 percent to 120,500 won.
Home appliances maker LG Electronics also surged 2.61 percent to 113,900 won.
But battery firms lost ground.
LG Energy Solution dropped 0.76 percent to 326,000 won, Samsung SDI slid 2.04 percent to 335,500 won, and Posco Future M plunged 3.11 percent to 234,000 won.
Leading chemical producer LG Chem also dipped 2.61 percent to 113,900 won.
Kakao, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger, also shot down 5.36 percent to 38,850 won after its founder Kim Beom-su was arrested earlier in the morning on stock manipulation allegations.
The local currency ended at 1,386.40 won against the greenback, up 1.80 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
