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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Stocks & Bonds

Korean stocks close higher on auto, pharma

  • PUBLISHED :March 20, 2018 - 16:49
  • UPDATED :March 20, 2018 - 16:49
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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s stock market closed higher on march 20 following gains from carmakers and pharmaceutical shares, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US greenback.

The benchmark KOSPI gained 10.49 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,485.52. Trade volume was light at 286.5 million shares worth 5.29 trillion won (US$4.95 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 405 to 398.

After starting lower following losses from US tech shares, the main index rebounded later in the day following strong gains from carmakers and pharmaceutical firms.

“The shares fell earlier due to the wait-and-see stance on the Federal Open Market Committee coupled with the Facebook issue,” said Kim Byung-yeon, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, claiming that the rebound was made possible as there were no problems with economic fundamentals.

Shares of Facebook fell 6.77 percent on Wall Street overnight amid allegations that the personal information of users was leaked.

Foreigners sold more shares than they bought at 140 billion won, while institutions scooped up a net 103 billion won.

Individuals bought more shares than they sold at 26 billion won.

Carmakers closed higher, with Hyundai Motor advancing 0.66 percent to 152,500 won and Hyundai Mobis increasing 3.32 percent to 233,500 won. Kia Motors added 1.75 percent to 31,950 won.

Pharmaceutical companies were also winners, with Samsung Biologics rising 2.67 percent to 462,000 won and Celltrion moving up 1.1 percent to 322,500 won. Hanmi Pharmaceutical increased 1.19 percent to 509,000 won.

Market behemoth Samsung Electronics increased 0.91 percent to 2,560,000 won and Samsung SDI also added 1.21 percent to 208,500 won.

Steelmakers closed mixed, with No. 1 POSCO losing 0.73 percent to 340,500 won while Korea Zinc increased 0.42 percent to 478,000 won.

Mobile carriers lost ground, with SK Telecom sliding 2.72 percent to 232,500 won and KT falling 0.9 percent to 27,550 won. LG Uplus also moved down 2.68 percent to 12,700 won.

The local currency closed at 1,068.60 won against the US dollar, down 3 won from the previous session.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)

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