An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
Seoul shares ended higher Tuesday helped by tech gains, with OPEC+ members' plan to cut oil output raising concerns over inflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 8.17 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 2,480.51.
Trading volume was moderate at 808.77 million shares worth 12.72 trillion won ($9.7 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 634 to 242.
The oil producers' surprise decision to cut output came just days after data showed US inflation may slow down at some point.
The personal consumption expenditure price index, an inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose at a slower-than-expected rate of 0.3 percent in February.
"Oil producers' preemptive output cuts are having a negative impact on inflation, but in today's session, tech gains helped the Kospi end in positive territory," Lee Woong-chan, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities Co., said.
Institutions and individuals bought a combined 294 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting foreign selling valued at 310.5 billion won.
In Seoul, tech, auto and refiner stocks led gains.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.8 percent to 63,600 won, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. climbed 0.1 percent to 183,800 won, and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. was up 0.7 percent to 181,200 won.
Among decliners, leading steelmaker Posco Holdings fell 6.4 percent to 367,000 won, leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution declined 1.9 percent to 575,000 won, and No. 1 budget carrier Jeju Air Co. shed 3.1 percent to 15,300 won.
The local currency ended at 1,315.80 won against the US dollar, up 0.7 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)
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