Stocks up for fourth session in a row

Stocks advanced for a fourth session Wednesday, supported by foreign buying as some investors sought to digest weak inflation data in the United States.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,153.40 points on Wednesday, up 4.57 points, or 0.15 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks advanced for a fourth session Wednesday, supported by foreign buying as some investors sought to digest weak inflation data in the United States. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi added 4.57 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 3,153.4 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 605 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 531 to 322.

Foreigners bought a net 299 billion won, while institutions sold a net 142 billion won. Retail investors offloaded a net 176 billion won.

The Kospi opened higher as bargain hunters sought oversold stocks on expectations of future price hikes. But trading turned choppy in the late morning as investors tried to digest the weak economic gauges.

Korea's job growth slowed for the fourth straight month in August, largely due to the latest surge in Covid-19 cases and the toughest-ever virus curbs.

During the same month, U.S. consumer prices showed the smallest gain in seven months, fanning concerns of a slowing economic recovery.

The Kospi rebounded in the afternoon as investors increasingly pulled optimism from the data.

"The weaker-than-expected consumer price in August turned out positive for the Kospi by easing market worries about an early U.S. tapering," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Park Gwang-nam said.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics added 0.52 percent to 77,000 won, but chipmaker SK hynix closed unchanged at 107,500 won.

Internet portal operator Naver decreased 0.5 percent to 400,500 won, and its rival Kakao retreated 1.21 percent to 122,500 won. Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics gained 2.52 percent to 936,000 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor moved up 0.24 percent to 209,500 won, but chemical firm LG Chem shed 2.18 percent to 718,000 won.

The Kosdaq gained 5.05 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 1,042.79.

The local currency closed at 1,170.5 won to the dollar, down 0.3 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 4.2 basis points to 1.492 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond lost 3.4 basis points to 1.28 percent.

BY LEE TAE-HEE, YONHAP [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]