Korean shares close higher for third straight day as auto, bio stocks climb

Bio shares gained ground as investors anticipated gains from recent moves by the U.S. Congress to effectively ban Chinese genomics companies from doing business in the United States.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,500.65 points on Monday, up 0.89 percent, or 22.09 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares closed higher for the third straight trading day Monday as institutions and foreign investors shored up on tech, bio and other blue chips. The won rose in value against the dollar.

The Kospi rose 22.09 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 2,500.65, extending its winning streak to a third day.

Trade volume was moderate at 421.5 million shares worth 8.85 trillion won ($6.62 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 523 to 361.

Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 769 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 728 billion won.

"Local shares seem to have been buoyed by gains made by market heavyweights amid a lack of particular upward momentum leads during the session," Yang Hae-jung, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities, said.

Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, expected the investors to engage in a wait-and-see in the coming days ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting scheduled to be held this week.

Most blue chips ended in positive terrain, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.36 percent to 74,400 won and LG Electronics inching up 0.86 percent to 94,300 won.

Bio shares gained ground as investors anticipated gains from recent moves by the U.S. Congress to effectively ban Chinese genomics companies from doing business in the United States.

Samsung Biologics climbed 3.49 percent to 800,000 won, and SK Biopharmaceuticals soared 6.70 percent to 93,900 won.

Auto and energy stocks advanced as well. Hyundai Motor and Kia rose 4.43 percent and 5.83 percent to 195,600 won and 99,900 won, respectively, and SK Innovation added 3.89 percent to end at 120,300 won.

Gaming stocks also closed higher after Krafton, the gaming giant behind "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG), announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings last week. The company's shares rose 0.95 percent to 212,500 won.

The local currency ended at 1,335.70 won against the dollar, down 0.6 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 4.2 points to 3.304 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds gained 2.3 points to 4.141 percent.

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