Seoul stocks end 0.49 pct up on foreign buying

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)
By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares closed 0.49 percent higher Monday
as strong foreign buying drove up brokerages, auto firms and machinery makers,
analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 7.69 points to
1,564.98, a new high for this year. Volume was moderate at 483 million shares
worth 6.8 trillion won (US$5.56 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 466 to
344.
"Securities stocks led the overall rally as increased liquidity in the market
sent liquidity-sensitive brokerages higher," said Kim Byung-yeon, an analyst at
Woori Investment and Securities. "The consumer price index showed slowed growth
in July, easing worries about inflation and tightening liquidity."
The National Statistical Office reported earlier in the day that the consumer
price index rose a lower-than-expected 1.6 percent in July from a year earlier,
the slowest annual growth since May 2000.
Securities stocks gained across the board with Woori Investment and Securities
rising 5.41 percent to 19,500 won and Samsung Securities adding 4.04 percent to
79,900 won.
Samsung SDI Co., the world's No. 3 producer of rechargeable batteries, jumped
7.84 percent to 110,000 won on an expected increase in market share and a rise in
demand.
Shares of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the country's leading power
equipment producer, advanced 3.71 percent to 72,700 won, boosted by a recent
nuclear power plant order. The company announced last week that it signed a
1.38-trillion won deal to provide reactors for domestic nuclear power plants.
Auto shares gained ground on increased July sales reports. Leading automaker
Hyundai Motor added 2.5 percent to 90,300 won after reporting its vehicle sales
rose 36.6 percent on-year in July to 262,623 units. Kia Motors Corp., Hyundai's
smaller affiliate and Korea's No. 2 automaker, soared 4.23 percent to 16,000 won
after reporting an 20.2 percent increase in July sales.
But the embattled Ssangyong Motor Co. tumbled by 14.5 percent, near the daily
limit, to 2,005 won, as management and labor failed to reach an agreement to end
a crippling occupation by strikers.
The local currency ended at a new yearly high of 1,222.4 won against the
greenback, up 6.1 won from Friday's close, as overseas investors were net buyers
of local shares for a 14th session, dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The return on
three-year Treasuries added 0.11 percentage point to 4.37 percent and the
benchmark yield on five-year government bonds gained 0.12 percentage point to
4.88 percent.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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