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Seoul shares closed slightly higher Tuesday as traders were trying to digest the effect of Donald Trump's possible victory in the US presidential election on the market. The local currency fell against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.17 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,866.09.
Trade volume was slightly heavy at 667.5 million shares worth 12.4 trillion won ($8.95 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 498 to 356.
Foreign investors and institutions purchased local shares worth 181.4 billion won and 106.2 billion won, respectively, offsetting retail investors' sell-off of 282.9 billion won.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.53 percent to hit a fresh high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite rose 0.28 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, following the assassination attempt on Trump.
The incident over the weekend increased expectations he will win the White House, bolstering hopes for more corporate tax cuts and looser regulations.
Analysts said the Korean stock market is digesting the elevated possibility of Trump's victory.
In Seoul, big-cap tech and auto shares led the increase.
Top tech giant Samsung Electronics added 1.15 percent to 87,700 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 1.3 percent to 233,000 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor soared 2.23 percent to 274,500 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia advanced 2.42 percent to 122,900 won.
Shinhan Financial also went up 1.54 percent to 52,600 won, while trading firm Samsung C&T jumped 2.91 percent to 152,200 won.
But battery shares fell big on negative prospects for the electric vehicle industry.
Industry leader LG Energy Solution plunged 3.35 percent to 346,500 won, Samsung SDI slid 4.64 percent to 360,000 won, and Posco Future M sank 4.84 percent to 255,500 won.
Leading chemical producer LG Chem also shot down 4.87 percent to 341,500 won, and steel giant Posco Holdings plummeted 3.37 percent to 373,000 won.
The local currency ended at 1,384.70 won against the greenback, down 2.1 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys declined 4.1 basis points to 3.035 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds dropped 4.2 basis points to 3.061 percent. (Yonhap)
