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Seoul shares sharply rebound on reviving rate cut hope; won sharply up

Published: 29 Sep. 2025, 17:24

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,431.21 points on Sept. 29, up 45.16 points, or 1.33 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares rose more than 1 percent on Monday, rebounding from the previous session's steep drop, as reviving hopes for another rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve encouraged foreign buying. The won rose sharply against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi added 45.16 points, or 1.33 percent, to close at 3,431.21, ending a three-day losing streak through Friday, when the index lost 2.45 percent.

Trade volume was moderate at 412.8 million shares worth 9.94 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with gainers beating decliners 596 to 269.

Foreign and institutional investors led the bullish mode, buying a net 445.7 billion won and 302.9 billion won worth of shares, respectively. Meanwhile, retail investors dumped a net 747.6 billion won.

Latest U.S. inflation data showed that consumer spending rose in line with market expectations, fueling hopes that the Fed may take another dovish action at its upcoming rate-setting meeting.

On Friday, Wall Street rebounded, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 0.65 percent and the Nasdaq composite rising 0.44 percent.

In Seoul, large-caps finished in positive territory.

Tech shares were among the biggest winners, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.08 percent to 84,200 won and SK hynix vaulting 3.71 percent to 349,000 won.

Major shipbuilders HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries advanced 0.63 percent to 400,000 won and 2.4 percent to 21,350 won, respectively.

Retailers and hotel shares were strong on a temporary visa-free program for Chinese group tourists.

Lotte Shopping climbed 0.43 percent to 70,600 won, and Shinsegae gained 1.45 percent to 189,400 won. Hotel Shilla increased 1.13 percent to 53,800 won, and Hanatour Service rose 1.41 percent to 50,300 won.

Leading IT firm Naver jumped 7.02 percent to 274,500 won after its acquisition of Dunamu, the operator of Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit.

Kakao added 1.69 percent to 60,300 won, rebounding from a recent slide due to growing complaints over its recent update on its popular messenger KakaoTalk.

The local currency was quoted at 1,398.7 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 0.97 percent from the previous session's quote of 1,412.4 won.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys added 0.1 basis point to 2.563 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 0.5 basis point to 2.721 percent.

Yonhap