Seoul shares snap 3-day fall on bargains; won at over 2-month low
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)
Seoul shares closed higher Monday to snap their three-day slide as investors scooped oversold stocks after US gains. The Korean won fell to the lowest in over two months against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 11.1 points, or 0.43 percent, to close at 2,604.92.
Trade volume was moderate at 235.86 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 434 to 427.
Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 284 billion won, exceeding individuals' stock selling valued at 265 billion won.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.09 percent to 43,275.91, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.63 percent to 18,489.55.
Solid economic data in the US buoyed local stocks, and further rate cut hopes by the Federal Reserve gave a boost to the stock market, analysts said.
Large-cap stocks were mixed.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 1 percent to 237,000 won, national flag carrier Korean Air Co. gained 1.9 percent to 23,600 won, LG Chem Ltd. climbed 0.6 percent to 330,500 won, and leading budget carrier Jeju Air Co. was up 2.8 percent to 9,050 won.
Among decliners, market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.3 percent to 59,000 won, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. declined 0.5 percent to 10,000 won, and Hyundai Steel Co. shed 2 percent to 26,700 won.
The local currency was trading at 1,375.20 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 5.5 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
