Seoul stocks end 1.09% higher on foreign buying

Seoul stocks end 1.09% higher on foreign buying

By Kang Seung-woo The Korean stock market ended up 1.09 percent Thursday as foreigners bought shares amid easing concerns on global market risks. The local currency also gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 20.94 points to 1,950.26, the second-highest figure of the year following 1,967.85 set on Nov. 10. The Seoul bourse traded 0.87 percent higher late Thursday morning, fueled by hefty foreign and institutional buying. Trading volume was heavy at 427.6 million shares worth 5.7 trillion won ($5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 538 to 273. “Rising hopes that Europe’s debt risks would ease and the upbeat economic data from China and the United States have stoked investor sentiment,” a Seoul-based economist said. “The completion of the joint naval drills by Korea and the United States also quelled worries concerning the country’s geopolitical risks, prompting foreigners to buy.” Last week, due to North Korea’s artillery attack on a South Korean island, Yeonpyeong, which killed two marines and two civilians weighed heavily on investor sentiment. But Thursday’s foreign buying showed that the market’s concerns are easing. With the stocks showing a recent bullish run, the market might see a Santa Rally this year. Until last week, the economists said that the local market would be unlikely to see it due to soaring geopolitical risks and global economic uncertainties. A Santa Rally refers to a bullish bourse around the end of the year. In general, stock markets tend show a bullish run during the year-end period as handsome bonuses and gift shopping boosts consumption and corporate performances improve. They say that the Seoul bourse is not expected to hit the 2000-mark this year, as China’s potential monetary tightening and debt crisis in the eurozone are weighing on investor sentiment. The local currency ended at 1,149.3 won to the greenback, up 2.1 won from Wednesday’s close. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year Treasuries shed 0.03 percentage points to 3.18 percent, but the return on benchmark five-year government bonds added 0.02 percentage points to 3.90 percent. Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.8 percent, or 180.47 points, at 10,168.52, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose by 20.15 points to 2,843.60.

ksw@koreatimes.co.kr