Kospi down, Kosdaq up as investors hunt for bargains

Korean shares closed nearly flat with minor gains in key sectors, influenced by investor activity and comments from the U.S. Fed suggesting no urgency to lower interest rates.

An electronic board at Hana Bank in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,416.85 on Friday. [YONHAP]

Shares closed nearly flat Friday as investors' bargain hunting limited declines amid lingering uncertainties regarding the future direction of U.S. interest rates.

The local currency gained against the dollar, trading below 1,400 won as of 3:30 p.m. for the first time in four days.

The benchmark Kospi edged down 2 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 2,416.86. The main index briefly fell below the 2,400 level at one point. The Kosdaq gained 3.86 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 685.42.

Trade volume was moderate at 607 million shares worth 11.7 trillion won ($8.36 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 505 to 390.

Foreigners sold a net 75.8 billion won worth of local stocks, and individuals bought a net 31.1 billion won. Institutions sold a net 13.9 billion won.

During a speech in Dallas, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the economy is showing no signals that the central bank should be “in a hurry to lower rates.”

Samsung Electronics rebounded 7.21 percent to 53,500 won after closing below 50,000 won for the first time since June 2020 on Thursday. SK hynix also closed 3.01 percent higher at 178,200 won.

Kakao rose 3.81 percent to 34,050 won while Naver closed 0.80 percent higher at 190,000 won.

Major entertainment shares also rose, with HYBE soaring 3.33 percent to close at 205,000 won, SM Entertainment climbing 3.64 percent to 76,900 won and JYP Entertainment closing 4.58 percent higher at 59,400 won.

The local currency had been trading at 1,398.8 won against the greenback as of 3:30 p.m., down 6.3 won from the previous session. On the previous day, the currency authorities had vowed to actively respond to excessive foreign exchange volatility.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 1.2 basis points to 2.942 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds fell 2.5 basis points to 4.439 percent.

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