Seoul shares up for 3rd day on top-cap, IT gains

South Korean stocks closed higher for the third consecutive session Wednesday, led by big gains in market heavyweight Samsung Electronics and IT shares. The local currency was trading lower against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 21.89 points, or 0.74 percent, to end at 2,972.19.
Trade volume was moderate at 568.6 million shares worth 14.4 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 457 to 425.
Foreigners net purchased 272 billion won worth of local shares, and institutions bought 130.6 billion won, while retail investors unloaded 432 billion won in apparent profit taking.
Investors' eyes are on whether the KOSPI will hit the 3,000 mark for the first time in over three years this week despite the growing tensions in the Middle East.
Overnight, Wall Street lost ground on news reports that US President Donald Trump has called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and warned people in Tehran to evacuate immediately, suggesting a possible escalation of tensions in the region.
Iran has been engaging in a military conflict with Israel after the latter conducted preemptive airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this week.
Experts said foreign investors moved to buy IT shares on the Korean government's plan to make a massive investment in artificial intelligence (AI), while global investment bank JP Morgan recommended overweight of top search engine Naver in stock portfolio.
On Sunday, President Lee Jae Myung appointed Ha Jung-woo, head of the Future AI Center at Naver, as the presidential secretary for AI policy, a newly minted position.
Naver shot up 17.92 percent to 243,500 won, while Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, jumped 6.56 percent to 55,200 won. NHN, a major IT and game company, also rallied 10.46 percent to 32,200 won.
Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics climbed 2.93 percent to 59,800 won, and leading nuclear power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility advanced 2.69 percent to 61,000 won.
Major oil refinery SK Innovation soared 10.98 percent to 101,100 won as the Israel-Iran conflict drove up international oil prices.
On the other hand, chipmaking giant SK hynix lost 1 percent to 246,500 won, while defense industry leader Hanwha Aerospace dropped 2.83 percent to 927,000 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,369.4 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 6.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)

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