Stocks rebound from 19-month low on bargain hunting

Stocks rebounded Tuesday from a fresh 19-month low the previous session on bargain hunting amid lingering concerns over high inflation and a global economic slowdown. The local currency fell against the dollar.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,408.93 points on Tuesday, up 17.90 points, or 0.75 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks rebounded Tuesday from a fresh 19-month low the previous session on bargain hunting amid lingering concerns over high inflation and a global economic slowdown. The local currency fell against the dollar.

The Kospi added 17.90 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 2,408.93. The gain came after the index tumbled 2.04 percent to the lowest level since November 2020.

Trading volume was a bit slim at 468.76 million shares worth 7.29 trillion won ($5.64 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 689 to 187.

Institutions bought a net 543.3 billion won worth of shares. Foreign investors sold a net 318.7 billion won and individuals offloaded a net 231.6 billion won worth of shares.

"Shares gathered ground on the back of their attractive valuations following a recent rout," Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said.

"But it will take time for the index to make any meaningful upturn, as concerns continue over the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening to curb inflation at the risk of causing an economic slowdown," the analyst added.

Earlier in the day, Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong voiced concerns over risks for a further buildup in inflation and hinted at more aggressive monetary steps in the coming months.

Last week, the U.S. central bank raised the key rate by 0.75 percentage points, the biggest increase since 1994.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics lost 0.34 percent to a fresh yearly low of 58,500 won, while LG hynix added 0.74 percent to 95,200 won.

LG Energy Solution increased 0.36 percent to 413,000 won, while LG Chem shed 0.7 percent to 558,000 won.

Hyundai Motor advanced 1.17 percent to 172,500 won, and its affiliate Kia surged 2.38 percent to 77,300 won.

The local currency ended at 1,293.6 won against the dollar, up 1.2 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 8.38 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 778.30 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds dropped 3.2 basis points to 3.663 percent.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, YONHAP [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]