Seoul shares advanced on Tuesday as battered auto and technology heavyweights including Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics rebounded sharply. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 0.93 percent at 1,900.62 points, but the South Korean benchmark is still down 5 percent on the month.
"This is a technical rebound as shares are a bargain at their current level. The market is in process of firming its support at 1,900 points," said Lim Soo-gyoun, a market analyst at Samsung Securities. South Korean shares are currently traded at 12-month forward price earnings multiple of 8.9, compared with Taiwan's 14 and Japan's 13.4, Thomson Reuters StarMine data showed. Foreign investors, however, were sellers of a net 145.7 billion won worth of stocks, offloading shares for an eighth straight session.
Samsung Electronics rose 1.5 percent, its biggest daily percentage gain in 2-1/2 weeks. LG Electronics shares advanced 4 percent and SK Hynix rose 4.3 percent. Hyundai Motor shares finished up 3.8 percent after a recent streak of falls, helped by expectations of solid second quarter earnings, analysts said.
Hyundai Motor shares' 12-month forward price earnings multiple was 5.7 compared with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co's 11.5, Thomson Reuters StarMine data showed. Shares in STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd fell 15 percent after trading in the stock resumed on Tuesday. Trading had been halted after market close on June 5. STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd advanced 11 percent amid talk that an accounting firm in charge of due diligence for the debt-ridden shipyard had determined the company was worth a court-led debt workout programme. The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks was up 0.96 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ rose 1.86 percent higher. Gainers outnumbered decliners 529 to 299.