Stocks make strong rebound Tuesday as investors pick up battered tech shares

Stocks made a strong rebound Tuesday from more than a two-year low as investors picked up battered tech shares following solid gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Kospi added 53.89 points, or 2.5 percent, to end at 2,209.38.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,209.38 points on Tuesday, up 53.89 points, or 2.50 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks made a strong rebound Tuesday from more than a two-year low as investors picked up battered tech shares following solid gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Kospi added 53.89 points, or 2.5 percent, to end at 2,209.38.

Trading volume was a bit slim at 412.58 million shares worth 7.37 trillion won ($5.16 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 815 to 90.

Foreigners bought a net 217.2 billion won worth of shares, while retail investors sold a net 205.4 billion won and institutions a net 15.9 billion won.

The market opened higher and extended gains, as key U.S. indices surged more than 2 percent each after U.S. Treasury yields retreated from levels unseen in about a decade.

"The slowdown in the expansion of the U.S. manufacturing sector also raises hope for the Federal Reserve to refrain from aggressive monetary tightening," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Park Gwang-nam said.

On Friday, the Seoul index tumbled to 2,155.49, the lowest level since July 2020, on fears of a global economic recession amid aggressive monetary tightening in the U.S. and other major economies to tame inflation.

The Seoul market was closed Monday for the National Foundation Day holiday.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics jumped 3.95 percent from a 52-week low to 55,200 won, and SK hynix surged 3.73 percent to 86,200 won.

LG Chem advanced 3.54 percent to 555,000 won, and Posco soared 5.45 percent to 222,500 won.

Hyundai Motor rose 1.7 percent to 179,500 won and its affiliate Kia gained 1.25 percent to 72,800 won.

Naver sank 8.79 percent to 176,500 won, and Kakao also fell 2.1 percent to 55,900 won.

The local currency ended at 1,426.50 won against the dollar, down 3.7 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 24.14 points, or 3.59 percent, to close at 696.79 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 13.0 basis points to 4.084 percent, and the yield on the 10-year government bond fell 10.2 basis points to 4.007 percent.

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