Kospi closes up 0.74% on extended chip stock rally
Seoul stocks closed higher for a second day as foreign investors bought chip shares ahead of Big Tech earnings results, while the won weakened against the dollar.
Published
Traders walk past the electronic display board showing the Kospi in the trading room of Hana Bank's headquarters in central Seoul, on July 22.YONHAP
Seoul stocks ended higher for the second consecutive session Wednesday on an extended chip rally ahead of upcoming earnings releases from Big Tech companies. The won weakened against the dollar.
The benchmark Kospi closed up 49.75 points, or 0.74 percent, to 6,797.7 after rising as high as 7,166.00.
After opening sharply higher, the index shed some of the early gains as retail and institutional investors sold off tech heavyweights to lock in profits.
The two trading cohorts sold off a combined net 2.61 trillion won ($1.8 billion), while foreigners snatched up a net 2.62 trillion won.
Trade volume was moderate at 368.7 million shares worth 28.1 trillion won. Winners outnumbered losers 467 to 398.
"The Kospi returned some of its earlier advance in the face of rising global oil prices, and as investors took a cautious stance ahead of the earnings release from Alphabet," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst from Daishin Securities.
The parent company of Google is expected to release its second quarter earnings results on Wednesday.
A sign is displayed on a Google building at its campus in Mountain View, California, on Sept. 24, 2019.AP/YONHAP
Along with persisting tensions in the Middle East, investors were cautious over uncertainties related to Washington's global tariffs of 10 percent, scheduled to expire later this week.
In Seoul, market heavyweights ended mixed.
Top-cap Samsung Electronics inched up 0.58 percent to 260,500 won, while industry rival SK hynix dipped 0.33 percent to 1,830,000 won.
Companies in the robotics sector gathered ground on the announcement from Samsung Electronics that it plans to strengthen its robotics business.
Hyundai Motor, which owns the robotics company Boston Dynamics, advanced 4.76 percent to 418,000 won and LG Electronics climbed 5.48 percent to 182,700 won.
Among the decliners were Samsung Biologics, which fell 1.65 percent to 1,372,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace, which declined 0.89 percent to 891,000 won.
The won weakened 6.7 won from the previous session to trade at 1,480.1 won against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m.
