Seoul: Stocks reverse course to end flat on big retail buying

[SEOUL] South Korean shares recouped all losses to close almost unchanged on Friday, finishing the week with a gain of over 1 per cent, as more buying by retail investors offset weakness due to a rout in US tech stocks and a rise in domestic cases of Covid-19.

The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi closed up 0.21 point or 0.01 per cent at 2,396.69, after falling as much as 0.9 per cent during the session. For the week, the index gained 1.2 per cent.

"The Kospi traded steadily despite rising volatility in US stocks... Investor sentiment remains weak, but the trend of active buying by retail investors continued to limit further losses," said Kiwoom Securities' analyst Seo Sang-young.

Retail investors looked past a slight uptick in daily cases of Covid-19 reported on Friday, buying 451.2 billion won (S$519.6 million) worth of shares on the main board. Foreigners sold around 165.4 billion won worth of equities.

Meanwhile, strong chip sales and improved demand from major trading partners slowed the pace of decline in South Korean exports.

That pushed SK Hynix higher by 2.4 per cent, while its peer and market heavyweight Samsung Electronics slid 0.3 per cent. A sub-index for electric and electronics reversed earlier losses to end nearly flat.

The won ended at 1,186.9 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, down 0.17 per cent. For the week, it edged up 0.2 per cent.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,186.9 per US dollar, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,186.0.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.01 point to 111.86, while the most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.8 basis point to 0.924 per cent.

REUTERS