Auto stocks drive Seoul shares higher

Seoul shares ended slightly higher on Thursday, helped by gains in auto stocks as their 2023 earnings fared well on the back of robust demand. The won rose in value against the U.S. dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,470.34 points on Thursday, up 0.03 percent, or 0.65 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Seoul shares ended slightly higher on Thursday, helped by gains in auto stocks as their 2023 earnings fared well on the back of robust demand. The won rose in value against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Kospi rose 0.03 percent, or 0.65 points, to 2,470.34.

The Kosdaq slipped 12.47 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 823.74.

Trading volume was moderate at 337.26 million shares worth 7.5 trillion won ($5.6 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 443 to 424.

Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 236 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting retail investors' stock selling valued at 250.26 billion won.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 37,806.39, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent to 15,481.92.

U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, which dragged down Korean EV battery makers' stocks.

In Seoul, strong earnings results by carmaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia pushed up the stocks and helped the main index end in positive territory.

Hyundai Motor rose 2 percent to 188,700 won, and Kia jumped 5.8 percent to 93,000 won.

Shipbuilder Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering climbed 4.04 percent to 115,900 won and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation gained 4.19 percent to 19,160 won.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.1 percent to 74,100 won while SK hynix fell 2.90 percent to 137,400 won.

Among other decliners, Korea Aerospace Industries, the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, fell 0.4 percent to 53,800 won, battery maker LG Energy Solution declined 3.3 percent to 368,000 won and budget carrier Jeju Air shed 0.5 percent to 13,010 won.

Tech shares also finished in negative territory, with Naver shedding 2.06 percent and Kakao dropping 1.23 percent to finish at 213,500 won and 56,000 won, respectively.

The local currency ended at 1,335.80 won against the greenback, up 1.2 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 1.2 points to 3.314 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds gained 4.3 points to 4.179 percent.

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