Asian Economic News
South Korean Market Trades Higher; Tech, Bank Stocks Move Up
11/18/2009 10:19 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
The South Korean stock market is trading notably higher on Thursday, with stocks from technology, banking and automobile sectors attracting some heavy buying. Steel and energy stocks are also edging higher.
The benchmark KOSPI index, which opened modestly higher at 1,609, is currently up 18 points or 1.1% at 1,622.
In the tech space, heavyweight Samsung Electronics is gaining 1.5%, Hynix Semiconductor is up over 3%, LG Electronics is trading 2% up and LG Display LCD, which remains a bit subdued, is up modestly over its previous closing price.
Among bank stocks, Korea Exchange Bank is moving up 2.5%, KB Financial is gaining 2.2%, Shinhan Financial is up 1.8% and Woori Finance is trading higher by about 1.2%.
Automobile stocks Kia Motor and Hyundai Motor are trading higher by 1.8% and 2% respectively, while Ssangyong Motor is down in negative territory with a modest loss.
In the shipping space, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and STX Pan Ocean are up 0.5%- 1.3%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding is trading with a modest loss.
Oil stocks SK Holdings and S-Oil are up 1.2% and 0.7% respectively. KEPCO is up with a modest gain. Steel stocks Hyundai Steel and POSCO are trading higher. Airliners are also up in positive territory, while telecom stocks are exhibiting some weakness.
Shares of casino operators are in demand following the impressive debut of Grand Korea Leisure, a unit of the South Korean government's tourism agency. Grand Korea Leisure was up over 30% on its issue price of 12,000 won.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Shanghai, Indonesia and Taiwan are trading flat, while New Zealand and Singapore are trading notably higher. Hong Kong and Japan are exhibiting weakness. Markets across the region had turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended marginally lower on Wednesday, as worrisome data on inflation and the housing market prompted some traders to reduce positions in equities. The major averages all closed in negative territory, although well off their worst levels of the day.
The Dow ended lower by 11.1 points or 0.1% at 10,426.2, the Nasdaq dropped by 10.6 points or 0.5% to 2,193.1 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.5 points or 0.1% to 1,109.8.
Major European markets ended little changed on Wednesday. While U.K.'s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 index slipped by less than a tenth of a percent, the German DAX index edged up by 0.2%.
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