April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks closed higher on Nov. 21 as investors scooped up large-cap tech shares following overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 3.03 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,530.76. Trade volume was slim at 253 million shares worth 4.5 trillion won (US$4 billion), with losers outnumbering advancers 499 to 302.

The broad index opened higher taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. On Nov. 20, the US Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.3 percent, and the S&P rose 0.1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index also gained 0.1 percent.

“The local stock market closed higher on the back of gains of large-cap tech shares,” said Lee Yeong-gon, a Hana Financial Investment analyst.

Most large-cap stocks had a mixed day of trading, with tech shares leading the gains.

Top cap Samsung Electronics ended at 2,764,000 won, up 0.14 percent from the previous session‘s close. Its smaller rival LG Electronics added 0.76 percent to 92,900 won. Chipmaker SK hynix also increased 3.53 percent to 85,000 won, and flat panel maker LG Display jumped 4 percent to 33,800 won.

Leading game publisher NCsoft jumped 5.02 percent to close at 465,000 won on the back of continued popularity of its mobile game “Lineage M.” Its rival Netmarble Games also increased 4.09 percent to end at 191,000 won.

Auto stocks also closed after a day of mixed trade, with leading automaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.32 percent to 157,000 won, and its sister company, Kia Motors, moved down 0.3 percent to 33,650 won.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies lost ground, with Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung Group, inching down 0.76 percent to end at 392,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,095.8 won against the US dollar, up 4.8 won from the previous close.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)