[THE INVESTOR] South Korean stocks finished higher on July 1, rising for the fifth consecutive day as market jitters over Brexit continued to recede. The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 16.97 points, or 0.86 percent, to 1,987.32, a level shortly before London’s decision to leave the European Union.
Trading volume came to 442 million shares worth 4.28 trillion won (US$3.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 570 to 232.
Foreigners net-purchased 250 billion won worth of shares, while institutional traders sold a net 91 billion won worth of stocks.
Analysts said Friday’s market indicated again that impact from Britain‘s move is limited and short-lived.
“The stock market, struck by Brexit, is regaining stability far faster than expected,” said Seo Dong-phil, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities. “It seems attributable to investors’ rational approach to separate the financial market from the political issue.”
The KOSPI ended at 1,986.71 on June 24, the last session before the release of the results of Britons’ vote.
Investors breathed a sigh of relief as major economies were quick in signaling aggressive steps to counter further fallout.
Still, it’s too early to be optimistic as indices on the eurozone’s real economy remain to be seen, according to analysts.
“Given a slowdown in demand in the eurozone, we need to monitor data on exports in July and August,” said Kang Hyun-chul, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities.
Market heavyweights largely advanced, with the tech sector rising 2.27 percent, leading the overall market uptick.
Market leader
Samsung Electronics climbed 2.88 percent to 1,466,000 won, and top carmaker
Hyundai Motor gained 1.11 percent to 137,000 won. The state-run
Korea Electric Power Corp. was off 1.66 percent to 59,400 won.
The local currency closed at 1,145.00 won against the US dollar, up 6.80 won from the previous session.
(
theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)