▶주메뉴 바로가기

▶본문 바로가기

The Korea Herald
검색폼

THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Market Now

Seoul shares edge up on foreign buying

  • PUBLISHED :February 22, 2017 - 16:38
  • UPDATED :February 22, 2017 - 16:38
  • 폰트작게
  • 폰트크게
  • facebook
  • sms
  • print

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares ended slightly higher on Feb. 22 helped by increased buying by foreigners. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI rose 3.68 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,106.61. The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.58 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbing 0.47 percent.

“Foreign buying gave a boost to the stock markets,” said Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities. Foreigners remained net buyers of local stocks, purchasing more than 323 billion won (US$282 million), while institutions sold shares worth more than 288 billion won.

Investor sentiment has improved as the index surpassed the psychologically important 2,100 points, said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at KB Securities. He also said large-cap stocks moved in the positive territory.

On Feb. 23, the Bank of Korea will decide whether to raise its interest rate, with experts forecasting a freeze.

Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.92 percent to 1,965,000 won and state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corporation was up 0.47 percent to 43,200 won.

Meanwhile, top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.99 percent to 149,500 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix was down 0.59 percent to 50,600 won.

The local currency closed at 1,142.60 won against the US dollar, up 3.50 won from the previous session‘s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

EDITOR'S PICKS