Kospi closes flat Wednesday ahead of Nvidia's much-anticipated earnings report

Shares closed almost flat Wednesday ahead of U.S. tech firm Nvidia's closely watched earnings announcement. The local currency fell against the dollar.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,689.83 points on Wednesday, up 0.02 percent, or 0.58 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares closed almost flat Wednesday ahead of U.S. tech firm Nvidia's closely watched earnings announcement. The local currency fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi gained 0.58 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,689.83. Kosdaq closed at 762.50, down 2.45 basis points, or 0.32 percent.

The trade volume was moderate at 276.4 million shares worth 10.4 trillion won ($7.77 billion). Losers, however, outnumbered winners 625 to 260.

Institutions sold a net 33.9 billion won worth of shares, while individuals and foreign investors combined bought a net 30.7 billion won.

"There is a mix of anticipation and caution regarding Nvidia's earnings. The company's second-quarter performance and future outlook are expected to impact the stock market significantly,” KB Securities analyst Kim Ji-won said.

"The domestic market is likely to lean toward a wait-and-see stance," Kim added.

Tech stocks finished higher after trading mostly lower throughout the session.

Samsung Electronics added 0.79 percent to close at 76,400 won, and chip maker SK hynix rose 2.46 percent to 179,300 won.

Bio-related shares also advanced, with Samsung Biologics climbing 1.85 percent to 991,000 won and Celltrion rising 0.5 percent to 201,500 won.

LG Energy Solution dropped 2.12 percent to 368,500 won, and Samsung SDS shed 1.90 percent to 149,500 won.

Financial shares traded bearish as well, with KB Financial losing 2.28 percent to 85,800 won and Shinhan Financial Group down 3.52 percent to 57,600 won.

Automakers also enjoyed brisk trading, with Hyundai Motor soaring 4.65 percent to 259,000 won and its affiliate Kia rising 2.75 percent to 201,500 won.

In contrast, energy shares retreated, with petroleum refiner SK Innovation down 2.73 percent to 106,800 won and S-Oil also falling 1.41 percent to 62,900 won.

The local currency had been trading at 1,339 won against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 8 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 2.6 basis points to 2.921 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bond shed 2.6 basis points to 3.055 percent.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN, YONHAP [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]