Kospi closes higher for second day ahead of economic data

Stocks finished higher for a second day on Tuesday as investors await key economic data releases in the United States and China later in the week. The benchmark Kospi rose 8.75 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 2,552.16.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,552.16 points on Tuesday, up 0.34 percent, or 8.75 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished higher for a second day on Tuesday as investors await key economic data releases in the United States and China later in the week. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 8.75 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 2,552.16.

Trading volume was moderate at 434.48 million shares worth 8.15 trillion won ($6.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 622 to 248. Institutions and individuals bought a combined 112 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting foreign selling valued at 160 billion won.

Overnight, all three major U.S. indices closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.62 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.84 percent.

Investors now await economic data, including the GDP and unemployment in the United States and the manufacturing PMI in China, slated for release later in the week.

The releases will be an indicator for investors on whether economic activity is slowing down enough to halt rate hikes or not, analysts said.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks were mixed.

Samsung Electronics remained flat at 66,800 won, while SK hynix rose 2.3 percent to 118,600 won.

Hyundai Motor grew 0.7 percent to 186,700 won and Kia jumped 2.4 percent to 80,200 won.

Samsung Biologics increased 0.4 percent to 753,000 won and Celltrion gained 2.2 percent to 147,500 won.

Naver advanced 2.1 percent to 218,000 won and Kakao hiked 1.3 percent to 48,600 won.

Among decliners, LG Energy Solution fell 0.2 percent to 552,000 won and Samsung SDI dropped 0.5 percent to 596,000 won. LG Chem shed 0.5 percent to 560,000 won.

Posco Holdings inched down 1.7 percent to 583,000 won, Posco Future M sank 3.6 percent to 455,000 won and Posco International plunged 4.6 percent to 83,600 won.

The local currency closed at 1,321.90 won against the dollar, down 1.5 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 2.3 basis points to 3.7 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds retreated 3.1 basis points to 4.2 percent.

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