Seoul shares renew record high on tech rally

Seoul shares closed higher Monday to set a record high as investors scooped up Samsung Electronics and other technology stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 23.41 points, or 0.68 percent, to end at a fresh all-time high of 3,468.65. The previous record was 3,461.30, set Thursday.

Trade volume was moderate at 280.84 million shares worth 11.84 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 545 to 332.

Institutions and foreigners bought a net 264.8 billion won and 479 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while retail investors sold a net 765.8 billion won.

The KOSPI tracked Wall Street gains. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.37 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.72 percent.

“The main index was boosted by reports that Samsung Electronics secured approval from Nvidia Corp. for its high-bandwidth memory chips, raising expectations of a rebound in the semiconductor segment,” Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities Co., said.

Tech and auto stocks led the rally.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 4.77 percent to 83,500 won, and leading home appliance maker LG Electronics rose 0.76 percent to 79,700 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 1.87 percent to 218,000 won, and leading refiner SK Innovation gained 0.19 percent to 104,200 won.

Among decliners, leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai fell 1.36 percent to 159,100 won, and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings lost 0.88 percent to 280,500 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,392.60 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 1 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)