Seoul: South Korean stocks continued their upward trend for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, driven by foreign buying. Investors are closely monitoring ongoing trade discussions between the United States and China. Meanwhile, the local currency weakened against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 16.08 points, or 0.56 percent, closing at 2,871.85. The market experienced moderate trade volume, with 503 million shares exchanged, valued at 14 trillion won (US$10.3 billion). The session saw more losers than winners, with 461 stocks declining and 429 advancing.
Foreign investors and institutions were net buyers, purchasing 632.3 billion won and 14.2 billion won worth of local shares, respectively. In contrast, retail investors were net sellers, offloading 626.9 billion won. Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, noted that the KOSPI briefly surpassed the 2,880 mark earlier in the day due to sustained foreign purchases but later reduced gains as retail investors took profits following the recent rally.
On the international front, Wall Street remained relatively stable as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S.-China trade negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S and P 500 closed almost unchanged, while the Nasdaq composite increased by 0.31 percent. U.S. and Chinese officials were scheduled to continue their trade discussions in London, potentially concluding on Tuesday.
In Seoul, defense and shipbuilding stocks led the gains. Hanwha Aerospace surged 6.36 percent to 936,000 won, and Hanwha Systems rose 20.09 percent to 51,400 won following reports of a potential $6 billion deal for South Korea to export additional K2 tanks to Poland. Poongsan and Hyundai Rotem also saw significant increases, climbing 16.95 percent and 9.71 percent, respectively.
Among major shipbuilders, HD Hyundai Heavy and HD Korea Shipbuilding advanced 2.15 percent and 4.35 percent, respectively. Hanwha Ocean increased by 4.37 percent. In other sectors, LG Energy Solution and Celltrion posted gains of 1.23 percent and 1.25 percent, respectively.
Conversely, Samsung Electronics fell by 1 percent, while SK hynix gained 0.66 percent. In the automotive sector, Hyundai Motor decreased by 0.4 percent, and Kia declined by 0.84 percent.
The local currency was quoted at 1,364.3 won against the U.S. dollar, reflecting a drop of 7.9 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys decreased by 2.0 basis points to 2.385 percent, and the yield on five-year government bonds fell by 0.8 basis point to 2.562 percent.