SEOUL - South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Wednesday as early results from the U.S. midterm elections pointed to Democratic victories in both chambers of Congress. The local currency was trading lower against the U.S. dollar.
Swinging between gains and losses, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished at 5,683.80, up 35.01 points, or 0.62 percent.
After starting 2.43 percent higher, the KOSPI turned lower around 10:11 a.m. and fell as low as 5,421.72 at 12:45 p.m. as vote counting in the U.S. midterm elections progressed, before narrowing its losses and turning positive in the afternoon.
Trade volume was light at 258.8 million shares worth 22.5 trillion won (US$16.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 566 to 302.
Foreigners sold a net 2.5 trillion won worth of shares, while institutions and individuals scooped up a net 1.01 trillion won and 1.15 trillion won, respectively.
Early results pointed to Democrats regaining control of both the Senate and the House, raising the prospect of changes to key policies of the Trump administration, including tighter regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and support for renewable energy and secondary batteries.
"As the U.S. midterm elections are expected to end with a Democratic sweep of the U.S. Congress, investors are worried about a possible decline in AI investment due to tighter regulations on AI data centers," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
"However, eco-friendly sectors were strong on hopes for policy support by the Democratic Congress."
In Seoul, battery, pharmaceutical and banking shares closed bullish.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution soared 5.03 percent to 355,000 won, and Samsung SDI surged 11.57 percent to 545,000 won.
Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics rose 2.96 percent to 1.5 million won, and Celltrion advanced 5.32 percent to 200,000 won.
Hana Financial Group rose 0.86 percent to 117,100 won, and KB Financial Group advanced 0.07 percent to 151,500 won.
However, semiconductors went south as industry leader Samsung Electronics declined 0.68 percent to 218,000 won and SK hynix fell 0.14 percent to 1.4 million won.
Carmakers were in mixed territory as Hyundai Motor gained 2.16 percent to 283,500 won, but its sister Kia dropped 0.83 percent to 95,800 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,341.5 won against the greenback as of 3:30 p.m., down 0.5 won from the close of the previous stock trading session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell basis 2.2 points to 3.714, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds dropped 3.3 basis points to 3.837.
