Kospi extends winning streak to third day on rate policy hopes

The Kospi extended its winning streak to a third day on Wednesday as investors anticipate the U.S. Federal Reserve to pause its monetary tightening campaign. The benchmark Kospi rose 9.06 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 2,561.22.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,561.22 points on Wednesday, up 0.35 percent, or 9.06 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

The Kospi extended its winning streak to a third day on Wednesday as investors anticipate the U.S. Federal Reserve to pause its monetary tightening campaign. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 9.06 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 2,561.22.

Trading volume was moderate at 356.81 million shares worth 7.64 trillion won ($5.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 461 to 395.

Institutions bought a net 178.42 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting foreigners and individuals' stock selling valued at 200 billion won.

Overnight, all three U.S. indices closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 1.7 percent.

Seoul shares got a boost from the Wall Street rally that came on U.S. economic reports on consumer confidence and job openings, analysts said.

U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in August and job openings fell to the lowest level since March 2021, raising hopes for a pause in rate hikes and maybe even rate cuts next year, they said.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to keep rates unchanged in September.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.5 percent to 67,100 won and SK hynix climbed 0.7 percent to 119,400 won.

LG Energy Solution inched up 0.2 percent 553,000 won, Samsung SDI grew 1.7 percent to 606,000 won and LG Chem soared 2.9 percent to 576,000 won.

Hyundai Motor gained 0.6 percent to 187,800 won and Kia advanced 0.3 percent to 80,400 won.

IT firms closed mixed, with Naver sliding 0.2 percent to 217,500 won and Kakao jumping 0.8 percent to 49,000 won.

Among decliners, Posco Holdings dropped 0.5 percent to 580,000 won and Posco Future M shed 0.3 percent to 453,500 won.

The local currency closed at 1,323.40 won against the dollar, up 1.5 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 0.6 basis points to 3.7 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds fell 8.5 basis points to 4.1 percent.

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