Seoul, Oct 21 South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to a fifth day to close at a fresh record high on Tuesday, aided by gains in autos and shipbuilders. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) went up 9.15 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 3,823.84, reports Yonhap news agency.
Trade volume was heavy at 522.5 million shares worth 19.3 trillion won ($13.5 billion), with losers beating winners 497 to 367.
Institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing 211.6 billion won worth of shares. In contrast, individual and foreign investors offloaded 155.6 billion won and 12.4 billion won, respectively.
The index had been on a bull run since Wednesday, buoyed by optimism over easing trade tensions between the United States and China.
The index had opened sharply higher, rising more than 1 percent, on the back of strong gains on chip heavyweights and tracking strong performances in U.S. tech shares.
But the KOSPI gave up some of its early gains amid choppy trading, as investors moved to lock in recent profits.
"As the session moved into the afternoon, investors were tempted to cash in profits," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daeshin Securities.
Most major shares ended mixed across the board.
Semiconductor stocks took a breather following recent rallies.
Chip giant Samsung Electronics went down 0.61 percent to 97,500 won, snapping a four-day winning streak, and rival SK hynix also lost 1.34 percent to 479,000 won, ending it winning streak of four days.
Auto shares ended higher. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 3.43 percent to 256,500 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia climbed 1.14 percent to 115,800 won.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace increased 2.2 percent to close at 974,000 won and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution went up 1.04 percent to 437,000 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,427.75 won against the U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., down 8.55 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys increased 3.1 basis points to 2.600 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds went up 2.4 basis points to 2.711 percent.
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