[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares ended nearly flat on June 22, a day ahead of Britain’s referendum on quitting the European Union. The local currency rose against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.88 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1992.58. Trade volume was at 401.93 million shares worth 3.95 trillion won (US$3.4 billion).
Investors are seemingly waiting to see the results of the vote this Friday before deciding on their future investments, analysts said.
As a firm stimulus to the market, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen announced on June 21 (US time) the Fed will take a cautious stance regarding interest rates in testimony before lawmakers.
Institutions and foreigners bought a total of 202 billion won worth of domestic stocks. Individuals sold a net 251 billion won in stocks upon profit-taking.
Supporting the broader market, the electric provider
Korea Electric Power Corp. rose 1.02 percent to 59,200 won, top automaker
Hyundai Motor climbed 1.45 percent to 140,000 won, and conglomerate refiner SK Innovation jumped 5.42 percent to 146,000 won.
Meanwhile, blue chip
Samsung Electronics slid down 0.21 percent to 1,445,000 won, and LG Group’s chemical arm
LG Chem fell 0.78 percent to 255,500 won.
The local currency closed at 1,154.40 won against the US dollar, a 2.20 won rise from the previous session‘s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys hiked 1.2 basis points to 1.355 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond increased 1.1 basis points at 1.426 percent.
(
theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
