Seoul shares rose marginally to touch a fresh seven-week high on Thursday, led by gains in steel stocks, as investors waited on signs of progress in stalled US budget talks. Steel shares extended gains after China's next president said on Tuesday the state will fine-tune policies to ensure stable economic growth next year, boosting the demand outlook.
South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO firmed 2.95 percent, while second-ranked Hyundai Steel rose 4.7 percent. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 0.13 percent to 1,949.62 points, its highest closing level since October 18. Foreign investors continued to buy shares for a sixth consecutive session, propping up the index.
The KOPSI has been trading above its 20-day moving average since November 22, indicating a positive market trend. Sentiment was lifted by US President Barack Obama's remarks on Wednesday that a "fiscal cliff" deal could be reached in a week if his opponents would compromise on taxes. But investors held back from making aggressive bets, as political wrangling continued over a deal to avert a US "fiscal cliff" - a combination of US government spending cuts and tax rises due to take effect in early 2013.
"The market is struggling to rise sharply, weighed down by concerns about an uphill political battle to reach a US fiscal deal," said Lee Kyeong-soo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities. LG Electronics Inc and Samsung SDI Co Ltd pared losses to end down 1.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. The European Commission imposed its biggest antitrust fine of 1.47 billion euros ($1.92 billion) on the two Korean firms and four others for running two cartels on cathode ray tubes.
Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co Ltd eased 0.07 percent at 1.454 million won after hitting a fresh intraday high of 1.471 million won ($1,400) earlier in the session. Decliners outnumbered gaining shares 429 to 387. The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks rose 0.3 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ slid 1.7 percent.
Comments
Comments are closed.