Kospi inches up 0.15% with tempered trading ahead of FOMC meeting

The Kospi added 4.15 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 2,705.32 after a day of choppy trading ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee Meeting.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,705.32 points on Tuesday, up 0.15 percent, or 4.15 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares closed a little higher Tuesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting this week. The local currency fell slightly against the dollar.

The Kospi added 4.15 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 2,705.32.

Trade volume was moderate at 550 million shares worth 11.6 trillion won ($8.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 510 to 349.

The index opened higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

After choppy trading, the Kospi finished in positive territory, with investors taking to the sidelines before the start of the two-day U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting Tuesday, where the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key rate frozen.

"The U.S. stock market closed higher [on Monday] despite investor caution ahead of the FOMC meeting," Hana Securities researcher Kim Dae-wook said. "However, local shares are expected to move in a tight range amid an advance of the U.S. dollar and a rise in the rates of long-term U.S. bonds."

Retail investors remained net buyers of local shares for a second consecutive session, scooping up a net 346.5 billion won worth of shares, while institutions net sold 119.8 billion won. Foreigners offloaded 224 billion won worth of shares, snapping a three-day buying streak.

Large caps closed mixed.

Samsung Electronics slipped 0.66 percent to 75,200 won, while Celltrion gained 1.64 percent to 192,600 won.

Tech shares closed mixed, with Naver losing 0.29 percent to 170,200 won, while Kakao rose 0.12 percent to 43,150 won.

Battery shares closed higher. LG Energy Solution added 0.9 percent to 356,500 won, with its smaller local rival Samsung SDS advancing 0.65 percent to 155,600 won.

Auto shares also closed bullish. Hyundai Motor surged 1.31 percent to 271,000 won, while Kia gained 0.49 percent to 122,000 won.

The won closed at 1,378.4 won against the dollar, up 2.4 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 1.1 basis points to 3.342 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds rose 2.7 basis points to 4.462 percent.

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