ID :
205741
Wed, 09/07/2011 - 11:18
Auther :

(LEAD) Seoul shares rally 3.78 pct on institutional buying

(ATTN: REWRITES penultimate para; ADDS bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks rallied 3.78 percent Wednesday as institutional investors hunted for beaten-down tech firms and auto exporters, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 66.75 points to 1,833.46, snapping a three-day losing streak. Trading volume was moderate at 412 million shares worth 6.06 trillion won (US$5.65 billion) with winners outpacing losers 721 to 134.
"The rally was a technical rebound from the plunges in the latest sessions," said Lee Kyung-soo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities Co.
"Investors held the view that stocks had reached bottom. And ahead of Obama's speech and the FOMC meeting, the current price level appeared attractive," Lee said, referring to U.S. President Barack Obama's scheduled speech on Thursday, which will likely touch on employment issues, and the Federal Open Market Committee meeting slated for later this month.
Helped by investment trusts that raised the portion of local stocks, institutional investors were the biggest buyers of Seoul shares, adding a net 335.3 billion won during the day.
Semiconductor makers staged a bull run after a report that Taiwanese rival Nanya Technology flagged production cuts. Samsung Electronics jumped 6.33 percent to 773,000 won and Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-largest computer memory maker, spiked 14.71 percent to 19,500 won.
"There are expectations that chip prices may hit bottom later this month" said James Song, an analyst at Daewoo Securities Co.
Other technology companies also fared well. LG Electronics soared 9.14 percent to 64,500 won and its smaller panel-making affiliate LG Display climbed 8.33 percent to 19,500 won.
Doosan Infracore, the top maker of construction equipment, rose 11.79 percent to 23,700 won, after a local brokerage projected in a report an improved profit in the third quarter.
The local currency closed at 1,071.8 won to the greenback, up 3.1 won from Tuesday's close, as investors sought risky assets, dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasuries added 0.1 percentage point to 3.45 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds rose 0.08 percentage point to 3.53 percent.

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