Seoul stocks rebound to 3,000-point level on tech rally

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks retrieved the psychologically important level of 3,000 points Friday, backed by a three-day tech rebound. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 26.42 points, or 0.88 percent, to close at 3,015.06 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 847 million shares worth some 12.4 trillion won (US$10.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 673 to 208.

Foreigners bought a net 86 billion won, while retail investors sold 297 billion won. Institutions purchased a net 210 billion won.

The key stock index got off to a strong start, tracking overnight advances on Wall Street.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 1.73 percent to 14,823 points amid hopes of strong corporate earnings in the third quarter, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.56 percent to 34,913 points.

Stocks continued bullish trading for a third straight session, largely as investor sentiment ran high in the wake of Washington's recent move to relieve supply-chain shortage issues that have been pressuring the local exporters.

"The U.S. push to relieve the supply bottleneck seems to have eased the inflation risks and the supply concerns of (local) semiconductors, leading to the tech stocks' gain," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Park Gwang-nam said.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. increased 1.01 percent to 70,100 won, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. surged 4.9 percent to 98,200 won, and electric battery maker Samsung SDI Co. climbed 2.89 percent to 712,000 won.

Pharmaceutical heavyweight Samsung Biologics Co. gained 1.16 percent to 869,000 won, and top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. added 0.41 percent to 122,000 won.

Among losers, leading car battery firm LG Chem Ltd. retreated 1.42 percent to 836,000 won, and the country's largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. shed 0.24 percent to 208,500 won.

The local currency closed at 1,182.4 won against the U.S. dollar, up 4.4 won from the previous session's close.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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