Seoul shares edge up after US-China trade deal; won sharply down

Seoul, May 13 (IANS) South Korean stocks edged up on Tuesday following a trade agreement between the United States and China. The local currency fell sharply against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.09 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 2,608.42, following a 1.17 percent jump on the previous day, reports Yonhap news agency.

Trade volume was moderate at 413.3 million shares worth 8.32 trillion won ($5.87 billion), with gainers closely beating decliners 450 to 418.

Institutions and individuals led the daily decline, dumping a net 100 billion won and 136.9 billion won, respectively, while foreigners purchased a net 174.1 billion won.

After two-day high-level negotiations over the weekend, Washington and Beijing reached an agreement to cut reciprocal tariffs on each other for 90 days.

Wall Street was buoyed by the deal, with all three major indexes finishing higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.81 percent, and the S&P 500 jumped 3.26 percent. The Nasdaq composite vaulted 4.35 percent.

In Seoul, however, market heavyweights ended in mixed territory.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution sank 2.95 percent to 312,000 won, and Samsung SDI lost 2.29 percent to 170,900 won.

Defence giant Hanwha Aerospace dropped 1.95 percent to 804,000 won, and LIG Nex1 dropped 0.92 percent to 378,000 won.

LG Chem, a major chemicals maker, tumbled 3.56 percent to 203,000 won, and the state-run power supplier, KEPCO, slumped 4.28 percent to 25,750 won.

Chipmakers finished mixed as Samsung Electronics declined 1.22 percent to 56,900 won but SK hynix rose 1.79 percent to 198,500 won.

Food giant CJ Cheiljedang fell 4.02 percent to 238,500 won, and instant noodle maker Samyang Food went up 0.42 percent to 950,000 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor added 0.46 percent to 196,700 won, and leading pharma Samsung Biologics gained 0.91 percent to 1 million won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,416 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 13.6 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.0 basis points to 2.370 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds increased 4.5 basis points to 2.496 percent.

--IANS

na/