Synopsis
South Korean shares rebounded on Wednesday after a two-day decline, with gains in bio and information technology sectors. Investors are cautious ahead of Nvidia's earnings release this week, while the local currency weakened against the US dollar.Key Takeaways
- Seoul stocks ended two-day decline
- Gains in bio and IT sectors
- Nvidia earnings report anticipated
- Local currency weakened against USD
- Bond yields fell
Seoul, Feb 26 (NationPress) The South Korean stock market ended a two-day decline on Wednesday, propelled by robust performances from bio and information technology (IT) sectors, in anticipation of Nvidia's fourth-quarter earnings announcement this week. Meanwhile, the local currency weakened against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose by 10.8 points, equivalent to 0.41 percent, closing at 2,641.09.
Trading activity was modest, with a volume of 377.9 million shares valued at 10.9 trillion won ($7.6 billion), and gainers outnumbering losers 543 to 335, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Institutions purchased a net 239.6 billion won, while foreign and individual investors sold a net 322 billion won and 21 billion won, respectively.
On the previous day, Wall Street continued its downward trend amid concerns regarding inflation and tariffs, following a report indicating lower-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence for February.
Market participants are keenly awaiting Nvidia's earnings report this week, amid ongoing concerns about economic deceleration and U.S. tariffs.
In Seoul, shares in the bio and IT sectors ended positively. Leading pharmaceutical company Celltrion surged 8.73 percent to 189,300 won, and SK bioscience gained 0.54 percent to 46,650 won.
Top online portal operator Naver rose 1.31 percent to 231,500 won, while its competitor Kakao jumped 5.91 percent to 42,100 won.
Gaming companies also performed well, with NCSOFT increasing 2.65 percent to 178,400 won and Netmarble climbing 1.01 percent to 45,200 won.
Automaker Hyundai Motor saw a 1.23 percent rise to 205,000 won, and Kumho Petro Chemical soared 3.32 percent to 118,200 won.
Conversely, tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 1.05 percent to 56,600 won, and leading defense company Hanwha Aerospace dropped 1.18 percent to 672,000 won.
Hyundai Rotem, the train manufacturing division of Hyundai Motor Group, saw a decline of 3.93 percent to 85,600 won, following an announcement regarding a 2.2 trillion-won contract to supply trains to Morocco.
The local currency was valued at 1,433.1 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., a decrease of 2.7 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, increased. The yield on three-year Treasuries fell by 0.5 basis points to 2.591 percent, and the return on benchmark five-year government bonds decreased by 2.2 basis points to 2.676 percent.
