Stocks rise after blockbuster Nvidia earnings

Stocks rose as chip heavyweights boosted the market following Nvidia's strong earnings. SK hynix and Hanmi Semiconductor rose.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,664.27 points on Thursday, up 0.41 percent, or 10.96 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Stocks snapped a two-day losing streak Thursday on strong performance by chip heavyweights following Nvidia's better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The local currency rose against the dollar.

The Kospi gained 10.96 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 2,664.27.

Trade volume was moderate at 445.3 million shares worth 10.1 trillion won ($7.6 billion), with decliners beating gainers 509 to 348.

Foreigners and institutions scooped up local shares worth 163.5 billion won and 74.7 billion won, respectively. Individuals sold a net 273.2 billion won.

“The Kospi was boosted by bullish semiconductor shares following Nvidia's earnings results,” said Lee Jae-won of Shinhan Securities. “The Bank of Korea froze the key rate at 3.5 percent as widely expected, hardly affecting the market.”

SK hynix, a key supplier for Nvidia, jumped 5.03 percent to a record 156,500 won and Hanmi Semiconductor Company shot up 6.7 percent to 76,400 won. Samsung Electronics climbed 0.14 percent to 73,100 won.

Hyundai Motor rose 1.67 percent to 243,500 won, and Kia gained 2.14 percent to 119,300 won.

KB Financial Group fell 0.31 percent to 64,900 won, Shinhan Financial Group dropped 1.05 percent to 42,600 won, and Hana Financial Group rose 1.79 percent to 57,000 won.

LG Energy Solution climbed 0.37 percent to 408,500 won.

Samsung SDI fell 1.25 percent to 395,000 won and Posco Future M lost 0.65 percent to 305,500 won.

HYBE, the record label behind BTS, vaulted 3.57 percent to 217,500 won after band member J-Hope, who is currently completing military service, announced plans to release a new album.

LG Chem shrank 3.8 percent to 481,000 won, and Samsung Biologics retreated 0.36 percent to 820,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,328.7 won against the greenback, down 6 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 6.04 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 870.11.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 6.4 basis points to 3.339 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds gained 3.9 basis points to 4.318 percent.

BY KIM JI-YE, YONHAP [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]