Seoul: Seoul shares extended gains late Wednesday morning, tracking U.S. gains and supported by institutional and foreign buying, a day after the presidential election. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 62.23 points, or 2.32 percent, to 2,761.60 as of 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.51 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.81 percent. Institutional and foreign investors bought a net 349.71 billion won (US$255 million) and 523.09 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while individuals sold a net 853.06 billion won.
Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, won the election, defeating Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party. The vote followed the ousting of former President Yoon Suk Yeol after martial law was imposed in December. Lee began his five-year term earlier in the day following the National Election Commission's approval of his victory in a plenary session.
In Seoul, most large-cap stocks advanced. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.23 percent, and chip giant SK hynix soared 6.51 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.54 percent, and its sister affiliate Kia jumped 0.79 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings rose 0.41 percent and Korea Aerospace Industries, the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, jumped 2.98 percent.
Among decliners, state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. fell 2.33 percent and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shed 3.86 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,372.85 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 0.25 won from the previous session.