Kospi holds steady as Fed news negates semiconductor gains

Shares closed almost flat Thursday as an increase in big-cap semiconductor shares was offset by hawkish tones in the latest minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The local currency rose in value against the dollar.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,721.81 points on Thursday, down 0.06 percent, or 1.65 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares closed almost flat Thursday as an increase in big-cap semiconductor shares was offset by hawkish tones in the latest minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The local currency rose in value against the dollar.

The Kospi edged down 1.65 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,721.81.

Trade volume was moderate at 421.6 million shares worth 11.3 trillion won ($8.3 billion), with losers beating winners 530 to 349.

Individual investors and institutions unloaded stocks worth 16.45 billion won and 369.96 billion won, respectively, offsetting foreigners' purchases of 356.3 billion won.

Wall Street lost ground overnight as the minutes of the Fed's latest meeting showed its officials' disappointment over sticky inflation, dashing hopes for early rate cuts.

Earlier in the day, the Bank of Korea kept its rate unchanged at 3.5 percent for the 11th consecutive session, citing still-high inflation and a faster-than-expected growth projection for the year.

"The Kospi kicked off weak on hawkish comments in the Fed minutes but narrowed the loss later in the day as Samsung Electronics advanced," said Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix jumped 0.77 percent and 1.16 percent to 78,300 won and 200,000 won, respectively, on the back of a stronger-than-expected earnings report by U.S. chip giant Nvidia overnight.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries soared 2.87 percent to 132,800 won, and LG Chem advanced 2.87 percent.

But most other big-cap shares lost ground.

KB Financial Group plunged 2.28 percent to 77,300 won, and Hana Financial Group slid 1.61 percent to 61,300 won.

Samsung C&T also plummeted 3.33 percent to 142,100 won due to the building industry's woes.

Auto shares were mixed, with Hyundai Motor down 1.99 percent to 271,500 won and Kia up 1.35 percent to 120,500 won.

The won ended at 1,362.40 won against the dollar, down 0.5 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 0.5 basis points to 3.403 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds rose 0.7 basis points to 4.424 percent.

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