Stocks finish higher on signs of cooling U.S. inflation

Stocks finished higher Monday as signs of cooling inflation in the United States gave investor sentiment a boost. The won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Kospi advanced 24.26 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,632.58.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,632.58 points on Monday, up 0.93 percent, or 24.26 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished higher Monday as signs of cooling inflation in the United States gave investor sentiment a boost. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi advanced 24.26 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,632.58.

All stock trading was halted for around 10 minutes shortly after the opening bell when an unidentified system glitch was detected at Koscom, a subsidiary of the Korea Exchange and an IT service provider to the stock market.

Trading volume was at 447.5 million shares worth 15.5 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 712 to 178.

"The slower-than-expected U.S. PCE [personal consumption expenditures] price index raised hopes for a 'Goldilocks' economy," Shinhan Investment & Securities analyst Choi Yu-joon said, referring to a term that describes an economy with steady growth without a dramatic contraction or expansion.

All three U.S. major stock indexes finished higher Friday, after the PCE price index, an inflation gauge favored by the Fed, rose 3 percent in June from a year earlier, its smallest rise in more than two years. It also marked a drop from May's 3.8 percent.

In Seoul, battery and steel stocks closed higher.

LG Energy Solution rose 3.32 percent to 560,000 won, and Posco Holdings shot up 3.72 percent to 642,000 won.

Naver soared 7.58 percent to 227,000 won on growing anticipation surrounding HyperCLOVA X, its hyperscale artificial intelligence service, which is set to be unveiled next month.

SK Innovation surged 13.98 percent to 216,000 won on expectations for a turnaround in the third quarter.

Among the decliners, Samsung Electronics fell 1.13 percent to 69,800 won and SK hynix lost 3.59 percent to 123,400 won.

Hyundai Motor fell 0.41 percent to 196,000 won and Kia shed 1.78 percent to 82,700 won.

The won ended at 1,274.60 won against the dollar, down 2.4 won from Friday's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 4.7 basis points to 3.680 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds dropped 5.0 basis points to 3.952 percent.

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