Kospi rebounds with tech and battery stocks bouncing back

Korean shares rebounded on Friday, recovering from the previous day's crash, as the local currency gained against the dollar. The Kospi index added 0.16 percent and battery stocks performed well.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,302.81 points on Friday, up 0.16 percent, or 3.73 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares rebounded slightly Friday from the previous session's crash amid lingering woes over high U.S. Treasury yields. The local currency rose against the dollar.

The Kospi added 3.73 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 2,302.81, rebounding from the preceding session's 2.7 percent plunge.

Trading volume was moderate at 505.8 million shares worth 7.8 trillion won ($5.8 billion), with gainers slightly outnumbering losers 444 to 420.

Foreigners dumped a net 378.8 billion won worth of local shares, while retail investors and institutions bought shares worth 100.4 billion won and 221.9 billion won, respectively.

Overnight, all three major U.S. indexes closed lower due to a slide in tech bluechips that posted disappointing earnings, despite data pointing to robust growth in the world's largest economy.

The U.S. economy expanded 4.9 percent in the third quarter, the strongest reading in almost two years, fueled by a surge in consumer spending.

Investors are focusing on whether the Federal Reserve will pause its rate hike cycle or not, given the strong economic performance and still higher inflation.

“Kospi went below the 2,300 mark the previous day but rebounded to above the threshold as retail investors and institutions moved in to buy stocks at a cheap price,” said Choi Yoo-joon, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, noting the rebound was particularly higher in battery shares.

Tech and battery stocks, which had come under heavy selling pressure recently, rebounded, leading the overall market advance.

Samsung Electronics gained 0.9 percent to 67,300 won, while SK hynix lost 0.75 percent to 119,100 won.

Battery stocks gained ground.

LG Energy Solution rose 0.13 percent to 400,000 won, Samsung SDI shot up 6.86 percent to 452,200 won, and Posco Future M added 0.8 percent to 251,500 won.

IT stocks also ended in positive terrain.

Naver went up 1.92 percent to 185,400 won, and Kakao gained 0.27 percent to 37,750 won.

But auto shares went south, with Hyundai Motor down 2.17 percent to 175,600 won and Kia down 1.6 percent to 79,700 won.

The local currency ended at 1,355.90 won against the dollar, down 4.1 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 2.6 points to 4.07 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bond decreased 11.5 points to 4.85 percent.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]