Seoul shares close higher on strong battery gains

Seoul shares closed higher Friday on battery gains amid a report that the U.S. economy remains resilient. The won fell in value against the dollar.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,478.56 points on Friday, up 0.33 percent, or 8.22 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Seoul shares closed higher Friday on battery gains amid a report that the U.S. economy remains resilient. The won fell in value against the dollar.

The Kospi rose 0.33 percent, or 8.22 points, to 2,478.56. The Kospi has risen 0.2 percent this week.

Trading volume was slim at 285.54 million shares worth 7 trillion won ($5.2 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 549 to 312.

Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 380 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 387 billion won.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent to 38,049.13, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.2 percent to 15,510.50.

U.S. GDP for the fourth quarter of last year indicated that the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected.

In Seoul, battery stocks led gains.

LG Energy Solution jumped 3.4 percent to 381,000 won, LG Chem gained 3 percent to 416,500 won, and Samsung SDI climbed 3.7 percent to 360,500 won.

Among decliners, Samsung Electronics fell 0.9 percent to 73,400 won, SK hynix declined 1 percent to 136,500 won, and Hyundai Motor shed 0.7 percent to 187,300 won.

The local currency ended at 1,336.30 won against the dollar, up 0.5 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 5.2 points to 3.262 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds dropped 6.1 points to 4.118 percent.

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