Seoul Shares End Higher Despite Hawkish Fed Signals; Tech Stocks Lead Gains

Seoul shares ended higher on Monday on a rebound in tech stocks, as investors remained cautious about a possible interest rate hike following US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar. After opening 2.58 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) erased its earlier losses to close up 31.14 points, or 0.46 percent, at 6,820.02, reports Yonhap news agency.

The advance bucked losses on Wall Street on Friday (U.S. time). The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.02 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.52 percent. Institutions, foreign investors and retail investors were all net sellers, offloading 793.12 billion won (US$579 million), 639.86 billion won and 144.33 billion won worth of stocks, respectively. Their net selling limited the main index's gains.

In his first major speech since taking the helm of the U.S. central bank, Warsh warned that inflation remains a concern, leaving the door open to further rate hikes this year. In addition to increased expectations of a U.S. rate hike, investors remained on alert over escalating tensions in the Middle East following renewed U.S. strikes in the Strait of Hormuz. In Seoul, tech stocks led the gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.17 percent to 260,000 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix climbed 1.27 percent to 1.67 million won. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 1 percent to 403,500 won, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 2.16 percent to 378,000 won. Among decliners, defence giant Hanwha Aerospace fell 4.75 percent to 1.1 million won, and national flag carrier Korean Air shed 2.09 percent to 28,100 won. The Korean won was quoted at 1,368.6 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.9 won from the previous stock trading session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 5 basis points to 3.838 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds added 3.2 percentage points to 4.053 percent.

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