Stocks finish up Tuesday to break five days of losses

Stocks finished higher Tuesday led by strong tech and auto sectors. Investors await U.S. inflation data this week to find hints on future rate hikes and market direction. The won rose against the dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,562.49 points on Tuesday, up 1.66 percent, or 41.79 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished higher Tuesday led by strong tech and auto sectors. Investors await U.S. inflation data this week to find hints on future rate hikes and market direction. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi jumped 41.79 points, or 1.7 percent, to finish at 2,562.49, snapping its five-session losing streak.

Trading volume was moderate at 584.15 million shares worth 10.46 trillion won ($8.08 billion) with gainers outpacing decliners 625 to 249.

Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 443 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 445 billion won.

U.S. indexes have increased overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.2 percent.

Several Fed officials said Monday the U.S. central bank will need to raise rates further this year to bring down inflation, though the end to its monetary tightening cycle is getting close.

Investors are hoping the U.S. consumer price index data, to be released Wednesday, will support an end to the Fed's rate hikes, analysts said.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks led the Kospi's advance.

Samsung Electronics rose 2.9 percent to 71,500 won, and SK hynix climbed 2.8 percent to 113,400 won.

Hyundai Motor was up 0.7 percent to 207,000 won, and Kia grew 1.1 percent to 88,500 won.

Naver gained 2.2 percent to 197,400 won, and Kakao jumped 1.7 percent to 50,700 won.

SK Telecom added 2.1 percent to reach 45,250 won.

Among decliners, Posco Holdings declined 0.6 percent to 394,500 won and Posco Future M sank 2.9 percent to 396,000 won.

KG Mobility, formerly SsangYong Motor, fell 2.1 percent to 8,620 won, and HMM slipped 1.2 percent to 18,100 won.

The local currency ended at 1,293.70 won against the dollar, down 12.8 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 8.7 basis points to 3.705 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds shed 6.8 basis points to 3.998 percent.

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