Seoul: Shares end higher despite virus worries, grim US data

[SEOUL] South Korean shares shrugged off worries about rising domestic infections and grim US data to close slightly higher on Wednesday after its government said it hadn't decided yet whether or when to raise the social distancing rule to level 3.

The benchmark Kospi closed up 2.59 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 2,369.32, after dropping as much as 1.26 per cent.

The country reported 320 new infections as of midnight Tuesday and ordered most schools in Seoul and surrounding areas to close and move classes back online.

The Bank of Korea will likely hold policy interest rate unchanged on Thursday, but is expected to downgrade its economic projection by a large margin from the current 0.2 per cent decline.

Volatility in Kospi is rising as investor sentiment seems to be highly affected by the development of the novel coronavirus situation in the country, said Lee Young-gon, analyst at Hana Financial Investment.

Foreigners were net buyers of US$159.77 million worth of shares on the main board.

REUTERS