Seoul shares up for 3rd day amid U.S. tariff uncertainty; won sharply down

Shares closed slightly higher Friday, extending their winning streak to a third day, as investors kept a close eye on the ongoing tariff negotiations between Korea and the United States. The won lost ground against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi added 5.6 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 3,196.05.

Trade volume was moderate at 385.7 million shares worth 9.8 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 504 to 370.

Foreigners and institutions bought shares worth 268.9 billion won and 110.4 billion won, respectively, while retail investors unloaded 461.3 billion won.

Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 up 0.18 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.7 percent.

Investors were paying close attention to whether Seoul would strike a trade deal with Washington following Japan as Korea's top trade officials met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the U.S. capital on Thursday.

In the meeting, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to striking a trade deal before the Aug. 1 deadline and agreed to soon hold an additional round of negotiations, according to the Seoul government.

“The market appears to have been relieved on news that Korea's industry minister and trade minister met with Lutnick, but the Kospi showed limited growth due to persisting uncertainties ahead of the looming negotiation deadline,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

In Seoul, tech giant Samsung Electronics edged down 0.15 percent to 65,900 won while its chipmaking rival, SK hynix, fell 1.3 percent to 266,000 won.

LG Energy Solution shed 1.22 percent, tracking Tesla's 8.2 percent overnight slide.

Bio shares also lost ground, with Samsung Biologics falling more than 2 percent to 1.06 million won and Celltrion down 1.33 percent to 178,000 won.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor went down 0.46 percent to 216,500 won and its sister Kia retreated 0.86 percent to 104,100 won as both posted a decrease in operating profit in the second quarter mainly due to the effects of 25 percent tariffs on all imported cars imposed by the Donald Trump administration.

On the other hand, financial and shipbuilding shares delivered strong performances.

KB Financial climbed 1.37 percent to 118,800 won and Shinhan Financial Group advanced 2.74 percent to 71,200 won.

Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy soared 5.83 percent to 444,500 won, and its rival Hanwha Ocean gained 1.35 percent to 90,000 won on expectations for cooperation in the sector with the United States.

Internet portal operator Naver also jumped 3.3 percent to 234,500 won, while Kakao Pay, the fintech arm of Kakao, shot up 10.71 percent on massive purchases by global investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The local currency was quoted at 1,377.9 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 0.78 percent from the previous session's quote of 1367.2 won.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 1.8 basis points to 2.485 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds increased 1.1 basis points to 2.637 percent.

Yonhap