[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares extended gains late morning on June 29 as investors hope for concerted global efforts to shore up markets reeling from the post-Brexit rout.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rebounded for three straight sessions to rise 23.54 points, or 1.22 percent, to 1,959.76 as of 11:20 a.m., after shedding 3.38 percent from Thursday to Friday.
The local stock market is also buoyed by the government’s fiscal stimulus package worth 20 trillion won (US$17.2 billion) announced on June 28 to support Asia’s fourth-largest economy, analysts said.
However, it remains to be seen whether foreigners will further reduce their risky assets and increase investments in safe havens such as the dollar, they said.
Foreigners turned net buyers of domestic stocks worth 37.7 billion won after offloading a combined 755 billion won during the past three sessions. In contrast, institutions turned net sellers of local stocks worth 100 billion won after buying 620 billion won during the same period.
Most large-cap stocks advanced across the board.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.21 percent. State-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. climbed 1.01 percent, and leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific was up 1.77 percent.
Transportation stocks were standout losers.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.36 percent, its sister company Kia Motors declined 0.11 percent, and No. 1 auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis slid 0.96 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,165.20 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.10 won from the previous session’s close.
(
theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
