Seoul: Seoul shares closed higher Thursday, marking a fourth consecutive session of gains, following U.S. President Donald Trump's signing of a funding bill to conclude the record-long U.S. government shutdown. The Korean won, however, fell against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased by 20.24 points, or 0.49 percent, closing at 4,170.63. The trading volume was moderate, with 421.75 million shares exchanged, valued at 17.36 trillion won (approximately US$11.8 billion). Gainers outpaced decliners, with 475 stocks rising compared to 383 falling.
Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing 1 trillion won worth of shares, which offset the net selling by institutions and individuals, who sold 709.19 billion won and 244.1 billion won worth of stocks, respectively.
Trump's signing of the government funding bill on Wednesday (U.S. time) ended a 43-day government shutdown after the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the necessary legislation. Analyst Lee Seong-hoon from Kiwoom Securities noted, "Expectations for an end to the U.S. shutdown continued to support investor sentiment, but losses in technology stocks kept the main index from rising further amid a lack of fresh upside momentum."
In the U.S., stock performance was mixed overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.18 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped by 0.25 percent. Technology stocks on Wall Street were hit after SoftBank Group sold its entire stake in Nvidia Corp. to finance investments in artificial intelligence (AI). The analyst added, "Investors will keep an eye on Nvidia's earnings results to be released next week to take a cue for reorganizing their portfolios."
In Seoul, shipbuilding and energy stocks led the gains. Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries surged 5.97 percent to 568,000 won, while Samsung Heavy Industries increased 0.95 percent to 26,500 won. LG Chem saw a 6.61 percent rise to 419,500 won, and Samsung SDI, the second-largest battery maker, gained 4.04 percent to 334,500 won.
Among the decliners, market leader Samsung Electronics dropped 0.29 percent to 102,800 won, and its chip competitor SK hynix fell 0.81 percent to 612,000 won. Kia, the second-largest carmaker, declined by 0.51 percent to 118,000 won, and Korea Aerospace Industries, the sole aircraft manufacturer in the country, decreased by 0.58 percent to 103,200 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,466.20 won against the greenback at 4:30 p.m., down 0.5 won from the previous session. Bond prices showed mixed results, with the yield on three-year Treasurys rising by 0.9 basis points to 2.932 percent, while the yield on benchmark five-year government bonds fell by 0.4 basis points to 3.084 percent.