Seoul shares rose on Friday with car makers such as Kia Motors rallying after a strong set of quarterly results, but losses in builders including Daewoo Engineering weighed on the market. Analyst said gains in global markets helped lift investor sentiment but not enough to push the local market to new levels.
"Investors are now looking beyond the third quarter and into the fourth quarter...and they are sensing that earnings growth in this quarter may not be as robust," said Park Suk-hyun, a market analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 0.6 percent at 1,640.17 points. Car makers rallied following strong results from Hyundai Motor on Thursday and after Kia Motors posted a record quarterly net profit early on Friday. Shares in Hyundai Motor were up 6.31 percent while Kia Motors advanced 6.71 percent.
"Boosted by government incentives and helped further by new model effects such as the new Tucson, earnings were quite surprisingly good," said Kim Yong-su, a market analyst at SK Securities. "Looking ahead at the next quarter, we think the overseas auto market will improve substantially as economies pick up. Demand from the United States will improve and emerging market demand will continue to be strong," Kim added. But shares in Doosan Infracore, manufacturer of construction equipment, fell 5.33 percent amid worsening fears about their results, according to Daewoo Securities analyst Sung Ki-jong, as the company has struggled amid lack of orders.
Elsewhere shares in Hanwha Chemical ended flat after the company said it plans to invest 800 billion won ($673 million) in the solar cell business in the next six years. But the stronger won lifted airlines and tour issues amid hopes that the strengthening domestic currency may increase demand for overseas tours. Shares in Korean Air Line, South Korea's top air carrier, rose 1.16 percent, and Asiana Airlines gained 0.52 percent.
Mode Tour, an online tour agency, advanced 1.55 percent. Institutions sold a net 90.8 billion won worth of stocks and foreign investors bought a net 213.1 billion won worth. Retail investors sold a net 134.8 billion won. Advancers led decliners 417 to 373, with 82 counters ending unchanged.
Trading volume stood at 325.8 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won, compared with Thursday's 380.9 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won. The KOSPI 200 December futures index rose 1.90 points to 215.20, while the KOSPI 200 spot index ended up 1.48 points at 214.73. The junior Kosdaq market rose 0.03 percent to finish at 503.91 points.
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