SEOUL, September 23 (AJP)-Chip heavyweights pushed South Korea's main stock index higher on Wednesday, the last session before a four-day Chuseok autumn harvest holiday. Foreign investors turned net sellers, and retail investors cashed out 1.44 trillion won ($1.06 billion) on the way into the break.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 63.0 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,080.9.
Samsung Electronics led the gain, climbing 3.3 percent to 285,500 won ($210.14) and closing above 280,000 won for the first time since July 10.
SK hynix rose 1.2 percent to 1,862,000 won ($1,370.53), a smaller gain than Samsung Electronics. The rally was narrow: 548 stocks fell and 311 rose.
The main index in Seoul opened at 7,154.0, which proved to be its high for the day. It then slid as low as 7,015.0 before chip buying pulled it back.
Foreign investors were early buyers, according to local media tallies, but ended the day as net sellers of 510.1 billion won ($375.5 million). In the previous session they had been net buyers.
Institutions absorbed part of the selling with net purchases of 317.0 billion won ($233.3 million).
Samsung Electronics has now gained for four straight sessions.
SK square, the holding company that owns roughly a fifth of SK hynix, jumped 5.0 percent to 1,190,000 won ($875.90) and outran the chipmaker itself.
Korean Air edged up 0.3 percent to 31,500 won ($23.19).
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ outperformed the main board, rising 10.1 points, or 1.2 percent, to 844.5.
The won weakened, with the dollar quoted at 1,358.6 won, up 3.1 won.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped. Wg Tech, a Jiangxi-based maker of glass substrates for advanced chip packaging, jumped its 10 percent daily limit to 102.50 yuan. Kweichow Moutai edged below its previous close.
Seoul stays closed until Monday. By then it will have to absorb three Wall Street sessions, and the gains it carries into the break rest on a handful of chip names rather than the broad market.
AJP Takeaways
Samsung Electronics rose 3.3 percent to 285,500 won ($210.14), outpacing SK hynix's 1.2 percent gain.
Foreign investors ended as net sellers of 510.1 billion won ($375.5 million), and retail investors cashed out 1.44 trillion won ($1.06 billion) before the four-day holiday.
The rally was narrow, with 548 stocks falling and 311 rising, and Seoul will absorb three Wall Street sessions when it reopens Monday.
Tags: Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, SK square, Korean Air, KOSPI, KOSDAQ, Shanghai Composite Index, Wg Tech, Kweichow Moutai, Chuseok, won-dollar exchange rate
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