Kospi rises after tech stocks propel Wall Street

The Kospi rose 11.76 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,693.57 on the back of strong gains on Wall Street thanks to megacap tech stocks.

Screens in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul show the Kospi closing at 2,693.57 points on Wednesday, up 0.44 percent, or 11.76 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks finished higher Wednesday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains driven by megacap tech stocks. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

The Kospi rose 11.76 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,693.57.

Trade volume was moderate at 491 million shares worth 10.7 trillion won ($8.14 billion), with winners beating losers 444 to 429.

Foreign investors led the overall gains, buying a net 334 billion won worth of shares, while institutions and retail investors unloaded shares.

Overnight, Wall Street logged strong gains as investors shored up Nvidia, Oracle and other big tech stocks despite higher-than-expected February consumer price data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.61 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 1.12 percent. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.54 percent.

"Despite the higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data, Wall Street was fueled by the continued forecast of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in June and a rebound of artificial intelligence-related stocks," Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said.

In Seoul, tech and financial shares advanced, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.09 percent to 74,100 won and KB Financial jumping 5.87 percent to 77,500 won.

SK hynix fell 1.27 percent to 163,600 won.

Auto and telecom shares also enjoyed brisk trading, with Hyundai Motor climbing 2.90 percent to 248,500 won and SK Telecom adding 0.95 percent to end at 53,100 won.

Battery-related shares, however, lost ground as investors took profit from strong gains the previous session. LG Energy Solution slipped 0.24 percent to 418,000 won, and POSCO Future M fell 0.45 percent to 334,500 won.

Naver decreased 1.10 percent to 188,400 won, and Kakao lost 2.15 percent to 54,600 won.

For pharmaceutical shares, Samsung Biologics lost 1.43 percent to 828,000 won while Celltrion moved down 1.60 percent to 178,800 won.

The local currency ended at 1,314.50 won against the greenback, up 3.50 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq gained 0.22 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 889.93.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 2.0 basis points to 3.253 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds gained 6.1 basis points to 4.159 percent.

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