Seoul shares up for second day on tech gains despite tariff concerns

Shares closed higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and boosted by technology stocks in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats. The won rose slightly against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi gained 13.25 points, or 0.41 percent, to finish at 3,215.28. The Kosdaq gained 13.51 points, or 1.69 percent, to close at 812.88.

Trade volume was moderate at 415.06 million shares worth 11.94 trillion won ($8.6 billion). Decliners outnumbered gainers 510 to 364.

Foreigners bought a net 212.29 billion won worth of shares, while institutions and individuals sold 20.8 billion won and 311.19 billion won, respectively.

Trump has notified key U.S. trading partners of new tariff rates set to take effect Aug. 1 unless they offer improved terms in ongoing trade negotiations.

“Trump has already sent a letter to Korea notifying plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on Korean products starting Aug. 1. The market had already priced in the news, causing no major jitters,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Large-cap stocks were mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.92 percent to 63,700 won, and Hanwha Aerospace jumped 5.08 percent to 848,000 won.

Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai climbed 0.51 percent to 139,000 won, and leading shipping firm HMM gained 1.76 percent to 25,950 won.

Among decliners, top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.76 percent to 211,000 won, and leading steelmaker Posco Holdings declined 0.16 percent to 321,000 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,380.2 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 0.07 percent from the previous session's quote of 1,381.2 won.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 1.1 basis points to 2.463 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 0.8 basis point to 2.644 percent.

Yonhap