Kospi gains 0.45% as tech stocks reverse slide

The benchmark Kospi gained 12.03 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 2,674.31 after a roller coaster session on Wall Street over Nvidia's earnings.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,674.31 on Friday, up 0.45 percent, or 12.03 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares finished higher Friday as investors picked up tech, energy and other blue chip bargains following losses the previous session. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Kospi gained 12.03 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 2,674.31.

Trade volume was moderate at 266.9 million shares worth 9.71 trillion won ($7.27 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 580 to 292.

Institutions bought a net 47.8 billion won worth of shares, while individuals and foreign investors combined sold a net 49 billion won.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed after experiencing a roller coaster of volatility amid differing views on Nvidia's earnings, with some expressing disappointment, while others saw the results as alleviating uncertainty in the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59 percent, with the S&P 500 ending flat. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.23 percent.

"Following Nvidia's earnings announcement, concerns about its potential slowdown have emerged, but there are also many opinions suggesting that these market worries are excessive," Kim Ji-won, an analyst at KB Securities, said.

In Seoul, tech stocks gained ground following steep losses the previous session.

Samsung Electronics rose 0.41 percent to 74,300 won and SK hynix jumped 2.36 percent to 173,700 won.

Bio shares also gained traction. Samsung Biologics climbed 2.51 percent to 980,000 won, and Celltrion rose 2.01 percent to 203,000 won.

Energy shares also advanced, with SK Innovation adding 1.95 percent to end at 110,000 won and LG Chem inching up 0.31 percent to 321,500 won.

Automotive and financial shares, however, retreated. Hyundai Motor slipped 1.16 percent to 255,500 won, and KB Financial also fell 1.15 percent to 85,900 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,336 won against the U.S. dollar, up 2.8 won from the previous session. The Kosdaq gained 11.62 points, or 1.54 percent, to close at 767.66.

Bond Prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 2 basis points to 2.941 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bond gained 0.9 basis points to 3.836 percent.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]