Seoul: South Korean stocks closed a tad higher Thursday as gains in defense and cosmetics shares more than offset losses in semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The local currency declined slightly against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.29 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 3,225.66.
According to Yonhap News Agency, trade volume was light at 435.7 million shares worth 9.91 trillion won (US$7.17 billion), with decliners beating gainers 497 to 377. Foreigners and individuals sold a net 78 billion won and 52.6 billion won worth of local shares, respectively, while institutional investors purchased a net 16.5 billion won.
On Wall Street, major stock indexes closed higher Wednesday (U.S. time), with the S and P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hitting fresh record highs. However, major technology companies, including Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft, finished lower as investors searched for new growth drivers. Analysts noted that the KOSPI showed mixed sector performances without clear drivers to push the index in either direction.
"The KOSPI did not have major issues to move the index in any particular way, but large semiconductor shares were weighed down by losses in U.S. tech stocks," said Lee Jae-won, an analyst from Shinhan Securities. Defense and cosmetics shares were among the gainers.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose 0.57 percent to 883,000 won following a US$250 million deal to export its homegrown K9 self-propelled howitzers to Vietnam, while LIG Nex1 added 0.8 percent to 506,000 won. Kolmar Korea, a major cosmetics manufacturer, mounted 1.27 percent to 79,700 won, and LG H and H jumped 3.04 percent to 305,500 won.
In contrast, top-cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.42 percent to 71,600 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix retreated 0.54 percent to 276,500 won. LG Display tumbled 10.61 percent to 11,880 won following the previous day's 22 percent surge driven by a U.S. import ban on a Chinese organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel maker.
Major pharmaceutical firms Samsung Biologics and Celltrion declined 0.67 percent and 0.57 percent to 1,033,000 won and 175,000 won, respectively. Naver, the largest online portal operator, decreased 0.22 percent to 224,500 won although its U.S. subsidiary Webtoon Entertainment struck a partnership with Disney to offer the U.S. company's comic brands through its platform.
The local currency was quoted at 1,382 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 0.3 won from the previous session.