Stocks finish at a 52-week high led by tech gains

Stocks finished higher for a fourth consecutive day Tuesday to reach a 52-week high, led by strong tech stocks. The won fell against the dollar. The benchmark Kospi advanced 1.3 percent, or 34.49 points, to 2,667.07

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,667.07 points on Tuesday, up 1.31 percent, or 34.49 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished higher for a fourth consecutive day Tuesday to reach a 52-week high, led by strong tech stocks. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi advanced 1.3 percent, or 34.49 points, to 2,667.07. Trading volume was at 483.9 million shares worth 15.7 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 626 to 257.

Foreign investors purchased a total of 193.9 billion won worth of shares, and institutions bought a combined 330.8 billion won worth of shares, offsetting retail investors' sell-off of 550.5 billion won.

All major U.S. stock indexes finished higher Monday on upbeat corporate earnings and hopes for a soft landing for the U.S. economy.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks ended in positive terrain to drive the Kospi up.

Samsung Electronics jumped 1.86 percent to 71,100 won, and SK hynix advanced 1.38 percent to 125,100 won.

LG Chem gained 1.08 percent to 655,000 won, and Samsung SDI grew 0.75 percent to 670,000 won.

Bio shares gained ground, with Samsung Biologics soaring 4.7 percent to 802,000 won and Celltrion rising 3 percent to 151,000 won.

IT stocks logged big increases on the back of U.S. tech gains.

Naver climbed 2.64 percent to 233,000 won, and Kakao spiked 7.02 percent to 54,900 won.

Kakao Bank shot up 14.04 percent to 29,650 won, and Kakao Pay surged 7.97 percent to 54,200 won.

Among decliners, LG Energy Solution lost 0.54 percent to 557,000 won, and SK Innovation sank 3.94 percent to 207,500 won.

Posco Holdings fell 3.27 percent to 621,000 won, and Posco Future M went down 3.42 percent to 509,000 won.

Posco International plunged 6.66 percent to 84,100 won after the Korea Exchange issued an investment caution for the stock.

The won closed at 1,283.80 won against the dollar, up 9.2 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds shed 3.4 basis points to 3.646 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds advanced 0.5 basis points to 3.957 percent.

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