Shares end higher Monday amid hopes U.S. Fed may not raise interest rates

Shares ended higher Monday amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates this month due to signs of slackening in the U.S. labor market. The won fell against the dollar.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,615.41 points on Monday, up 0.54 percent, or 14.05 points, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Shares ended higher Monday amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates this month due to signs of slackening in the U.S. labor market. The won fell against the dollar.

The Kospi rose 14.05 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 2,615.41. The main index continued to close at above 2,600 after surpassing the 2,600 level on Friday for the first time since June 9, 2022.

Trading volume was moderate at 537.16 million shares worth 8.43 trillion won ($6.4 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 655 to 209.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.1 percent to 33,762.76, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1 percent to 13,240.77.

The May U.S. jobs report cemented bets for the Fed's rate-hike pause this month as it hinted there are signs of the labor market slackening despite an increase in hiring, analysts said.

Labor market slack is the unmet demand for employment within a given population.

"Profit taking in tech stocks kept the Kospi from rising further in today's session. Now all eyes are on whether the Fed will hold rates steady at next week's meeting," Park Hee-cheol, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said.

Institutions bought a net 452.66 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting foreigners and individuals' combined stock selling valued at 457 billion won.

In Seoul, auto, airline and energy stocks led gains.

Carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.8 percent to 201,000 won, national flag carrier Korean Air climbed 1.4 percent to 22,050 won, chemical firm LG Chem added 0.3 percent to 723,000 won, and refiner SK Innovation was up 0.9 percent to 199,700 won.

Among decliners, Samsung Electronics fell 0.7 percent to 71,700 won, chipmaker SK hynix declined 1.5 percent to 108,700 won, and the aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries shed 1.3 percent to 53,100 won.

The local currency ended at 1,308.10 won against the dollar, up 2.4 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 2.22 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 870.28.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 6.6 basis points to 3.502 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bond climbed 10.0 basis points to 3.697 percent.

BY SEO JI-EUN, YONHAP [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]