Seoul: South Korean stocks rose nearly 2 percent Monday as investors picked up chip bargains while welcoming a major investment plan by Microsoft and marked gains of U.S. tech shares. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 46.72 points, or 1.91 percent, to close at 2,488.64, extending the winning streak to a second session. Trade volume was moderate at 296.92 million shares worth 8.05 trillion won (US$5.48 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 628 to 257.
The index opened higher and extended gains further, as foreigners and institutions purchased a net 376.35 billion won and 64.54 billion won worth of shares, respectively. However, individual investors sold a net 541.9 billion won worth of shares. "Investors have digested bad news that weighed down the market recently. The index is expected to rebound further as uncertainties have eased," said Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities.
Investors positively received the news that Microsoft announced a plan to invest $80 billion in developing data centers this year to advance artificial intelligence models and cloud-based applications. Meanwhile, attention is also on the annual tech show CES underway in Las Vegas.
U.S. shares rose noticeably Friday, driven by big-cap tech gains amid signs of a resilient economy and job market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 percent, and the Nasdaq composite leaped 1.8 percent.
In Seoul, tech giant Samsung Electronics soared 2.76 percent to 55,900 won, and SK hynix spiked 9.84 percent to 199,800 won. Leading electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.54 percent to 361,500 won, and LG Chem climbed 1.18 percent to 256,500 won.
Major bio shares gathered ground as well, with Samsung Biologics rising 0.64 percent to 946,000 won, and Celltrion increasing 1.55 percent to 183,700 won. Financials also finished higher, with KB Financial Group going up 2.03 percent to 85,500 won and Shinhan Financial Group growing 1.56 percent to 48,950 won.
Top steelmaker POSCO Holdings gained 1.16 percent to 262,000 won, and internet platform giant Naver surged 3.99 percent to 208,500 won. However, carmakers ended lower, with top automaker Hyundai Motor losing 0.7 percent to 211,500 won, and its sister affiliate Kia shedding 0.2 percent to 100,500 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,469.7 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 1.3 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.2 basis points to 2.524 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds added 4.2 basis points to 2.685 percent.