Stocks rise for a third day as banking worries recede

Seoul shares finished higher for a third straight session Thursday, as eased market jitters about the global banking sector have boosted investor sentiment. The won rose against the dollar.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,453.16 points on Thursday, up 0.38 percent, or 9.24 points, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Seoul shares finished higher for a third straight session Thursday, as eased market jitters about the global banking sector have boosted investor sentiment. The won rose against the dollar.

The Kospi advanced 9.24 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 2,453.16.

Trading volume was moderate at about 579 million shares worth some 10.3 trillion won ($7.97 billion), with gainers far outnumbering losers 594 to 276.

Institutions and retail investors offloaded a net 142 billion won and 120 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while foreign investors bought 262 billion won.

Overnight, U.S. stocks finished higher, as big tech names led the advance on improved sentiment about the global banking sector, and on hopes of a potential rate hike pause by the Federal Reserve.

In Seoul, top-cap shares ended mixed, with chip stocks leading the overall market advance.

Samsung Electronics added 0.8 percent to close at 63,200 won, and SK hynix rose 2.19 percent to 88,800 won.

U.S. memory chip maker Micron shot up more than 7 percent overnight on positive sentiment that the chip downturn has neared its bottom.

Hyundai Motor added 0.44 percent to 181,200 won, while Kia shed 0.13 percent to 79,400 won.

LG Energy Solution added 0.86 percent to 588,000 won, Samsung SDI declined 1.9 percent to 721,000 won and LG Chem shed 1.28 percent to 696,000 won.

Bio company Samsung Biologics inched down 1.14 percent to 782,000 won and Celltrion dropped 1.26 percent to 148,600 won.

Naver rose 0.95 percent to 201,000 won, while Kakao fell 0.50 percent to 60,100 won.

The local currency closed at 1,299 won against the dollar, down 3.7 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 1.5 basis points to 3.240 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds climbed 0.7 basis points to 3.572 percent.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO, YONHAP [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]