Seoul stocks rise for 3rd day ahead of Nvidia results

South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to the third straight day Wednesday as investors awaited the third-quarter earnings of US AI chip giant Nvidia. The local currency remained unchanged against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10.34 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 2,482.29.

Trade volume was moderate at 400.3 million shares worth 7.7 trillion won ($5.53 billion), with gainers closely outpacing losers 435 to 420.

Foreigners and individuals offloaded a net 187 billion won and 84.7 billion won, respectively, while institutions scooped up a net 170.7 billion won. Foreign investors remained net sellers for the ninth consecutive session.

Overnight on Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index finished more than 1 percent higher, led by hopes for Nvidia's quarterly results the following day.

In Seoul, semiconductor stocks finished in mixed territory as chipmaker SK hynix, the dominant supplier of high bandwidth memory to Nvidia, remained unchanged at 176,000 won, and Hanmi Semiconductor, a leading chipmaking equipment provider, rose 1.11 percent to 81,700 won.

Samsung Electronics, however, fell 1.78 percent to 55,300 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1.39 percent to 218,500 won, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 1.78 percent to 400,500 won.

Leading game publisher NCSOFT gained 3.37 percent to 215,000 won, and top mobile carrier SK Telecom went up 2.16 percent to 56,700 won.

F&B giant CJ Cheiljedang jumped 5.18 percent to 284,500 won on rumors that the company is considering selling its bio division.

The local currency was trading at 1,390.9 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., staying flat from the previous session. The Korean won had risen since last Thursday. (Yonhap)