Seoul Stocks Close Higher Driven by Chipmaker Shareholder Plans

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 60.37 points, or 0.88 percent, to 6,912.95 on Friday. The market rose as high as 6,954.12 during the session. Investors were primarily driven by hopes for large scale shareholder return schemes from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. SK hynix announced a plan on Wednesday to repurchase approximately 40 trillion won worth of common shares. Samsung Electronics was expected to announce a return scheme worth up to 110 trillion won later in the day.

Market gains were tempered by external uncertainties. A surprise bond buyback by the U.S. Treasury Department failed to ease concerns regarding government debts and inflation, which pushed bond yields upward. The Korean won rose 6.1 won from the previous session to 1,386.5 won against the U.S. dollar.

Individual stock performance was mixed. Samsung Electronics rose 3.87 percent to 281,500 won and SK hynix added 2.31 percent to 1,730,000 won. Financial shares also gained, with KB Financial increasing 2.69 percent and Shinhan Financial Holdings rising 2.97 percent. Conversely, Kakao shares fell 7.49 percent following an announcement to spinoff its chat app platform business. Defense and shipbuilding stocks also declined due to profit taking, with Hanwha Aerospace dropping 7.03 percent and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shedding 4.73 percent.

Trading volume reached 404.5 million shares worth 28.7 trillion won. Institutional investors were net buyers of 248.1 billion won, while retail and foreign investors were net sellers of a combined 1.34 trillion won.