[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares ended higher on Sept. 22, on the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain its key rate. The local currency rose against the US dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI gained 13.71 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,049.70.

“The Fed’s decision gave a sense of relief to investors,” said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, as the news has lifted weeks of concerns over a possible rate hike in the market.



The Fed has maintained its target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent.
 
“We judged that the case for an increase has strengthened, but decided for the time being to wait for further evidence of continued progress toward our objectives,” Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Sept. 21 in a news conference.

The South Korean main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.90 percent, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite index climbing 1.03 percent.

Still, Lee cautioned over institutions’ sell-offs.

Foreigners remained net buyers of local stocks with a purchase worth more than 147 billion won (US$133 million), while institutions sold a net 160 billion won on profit-taking.

Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.63 percent to 1,618,000 won and Naver, the top internet portal operator, was up 2.11 percent to 873,000 won. Meanwhile, state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. was down 0.67 percent to 59,100 won and Kia Motors lost 0.23 percent to 44,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,103.30 won against the US dollar, up 16.80 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)