Seoul shares extend winning streak to 7th day; won sharply up
South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday, extending their winning streak to a seventh session, driven by big gains in the defense and energy sectors
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.99 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 2,920.03.
Foreigners briefly turned to net sellers in the middle of the day to lock in profits but ended up purchasing a net 405.7 billion won ($299 million) worth of local shares.
Retail investors and institutions unloaded 175.1 billion won and 239.7 billion won, respectively.
Trade volume was heavy at 695.5 million shares worth 17 trillion won, with winners outnumbering losers 518 to 374.
"The KOSPI maintained its upward momentum thanks to gains in the defense and nuclear power sectors despite uncertainties that led to the mixed performance of global stock markets," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said.
Lee said fresh geopolitical tensions helped boost the defense and shipbuilding sectors, while the nuclear power plant shares benefited from expectations for more export deals.
Overnight, Wall Street closed lower amid heightened security risks in the Middle East as seen in the United States' plan to partially evacuate its embassy in Iraq.
In Seoul, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace jumped 5.3 percent to 953,000 won, and Hyundai Rotem soared 5.15 percent to 179,700 won.
Hanwha's shipbuilding affiliate Hanwha Ocean also surged 5.79 percent to 84,000 won.
Nuclear power plant constructor Doosan Enerbility shot up 6.85 percent to 54,600 won, while KEPCO Engineering and KEPCO Plant Service, both subsidiaries of South Korea's state-run Korea Electric Power, skyrocketed 25.63 percent and 13.93 percent to 89,700 won and 50,300 won, respectively.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution also escalated 3.93 percent to 304,000 won, and major shipping firm HMM went up 2.22 percent to 23,000 won.
In contrast, top-cap tech giant Samsung Electronics went down 0.67 percent to 59,500 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix lost 1.88 percent to 235,500 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,358.7 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., sharply up by 16.3 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
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