Seoul shares ended higher on Friday, with steelmakers rising on expectations the US administration will soften its stance on steel imports and techs on hopes of an industry turnaround. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished up 2.75 percent at 1,210.26 points, the highest close since January 7.
"The index was able to eke out solid gains thanks to continued foreign buying, buoyed by current undervaluation of the won," said Lee Jae-mahn, a market analyst at Tong Yang Securities. "The fact that the index is trading above the psychologically significant 1,200 level comes as a positive signal."
Foreign investors were net buyers for an 8th consecutive session, picking up a net 210.4 billion won ($152.8 million). "However eyes are on how the US administration goes about creating the so-called 'bad bank'. The economic stimulus plan seems set to gain passage by the Senate, which is good," Lee added. Steelmakers led by POSCO rallied after a US Senate voted on Wednesday to soften a "Buy American" steel provision included in the $900 billion stimulus package.
The "Buy American" would have required that all public works projects funded by the stimulus package use only US-made iron, steel and manufacturer goods. "The softening stance by the United States has somewhat eased worries about potential spreading of protectionism world-wide," said Kim Hyun-tae, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
"Also the steel price and inventory levels in China are turning favourable for South Korean steelmakers as China is seen taking on more public projects as part of its economic support plan." POSCO, the world' No 4 steelmaker, rose 4.99 percent and Hyundai Steel 2.57 percent. Technology issues also rose. Samsung Electronics, the world's No 1 memory chip maker, led gains, rising 4.61 percent.
"Likely restructuring and consolidation by Japanese and Taiwanese memory chip makers are expected to help stem the supply glut," said Suh Do-won, an analyst at Hanwha Securities. "The rising consensus is that the memory chip making unit of Samsung Elec and Hynix will swing to profit by the fourth quarter." Hyundai Motor finished up 3.29 percent and Kia Motors rose 3.19 percent.
Shares in Ssangyong Motor, which have been suspended, will start trading on Monday. However the Korea Exchange warned in a regulatory filing that Ssangyong Motor may get delisted. Institutions sold a net 31.15 billion won and retail investors sold a net 152.5 billion won. Advancers led decliners by 584 to 226, with 72 titles ending unchanged.
Trading volume stood at 550 million shares worth 5.35 trillion won, compared with 456 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won on Thursday. The KOSPI 200 March futures index rose 5.85 points to 159.40 points and the KOSPI 200 spot index went up 4.90 points to 158.90 points. The junior Kosdaq advanced 1.42 percent to close at 378.79 points.
Comments
Comments are closed.