SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI closed higher on Thursday, even though individual investors, foreigners and institutions all pulled money out of the main board. It was the third time in four sessions that the index rose as all three major investor groups were net sellers.
The index rose 16.76 points or 0.3 percent to close at 6,579.48.
Underneath the gain was a rotation rather than a recovery. Shipbuilders, insurers and banks were bought hard, the semiconductor names that carry the index kept bleeding, and the session turned briefly negative in the afternoon before recovering into the close.
Individuals sold a net 955.0 billion won (US$702.7 million), foreigners 423.4 billion won and institutions 215.2 billion won, roughly 1.59 trillion won leaving the market on a day it went up.
The same pattern happened on Sept. 1, when the KOSPI also closed slightly higher even though all three investor groups were net sellers.
Samsung Electronics slipped 0.2 percent to 250,000 won and SK hynix fell 1.1 percent to 1,596,000 won. Samsung Electro-Mechanics dropped 3.7 percent to 1,348,000 won. Samsung Heavy Industries jumped 8.6 percent to 21,650 won, and non-life insurance was the strongest sector on the board at 5.8 percent.
KB Financial rose 5.2 percent to 177,900 won and Samsung Life gained 3.1 percent to 303,000 won.
Traders read the bid in banks and insurers as a bet on yields staying high, and the bid in shipbuilders as a bet that a contested Strait of Hormuz keeps tanker rates and replacement orders elevated.
Kuwait's armed forces said air defenses engaged Iranian missiles and drones on Thursday, the latest turn in a war that began in late February. Brent crude settled at $95.63 a barrel on Wednesday.
The junior KOSDAQ, however, moved in the opposite direction. It fell 13.77 points or 1.7 percent to 790.21, slipping below the 800 mark.
In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 eased 0.2 percent to 64,214.48. Advantest fell 0.8 percent to 32,280 yen while Mitsubishi Corp, which runs a large energy trading book, rose 4.1 percent to 5,059 yen.
The Shanghai Composite finished marginally higher. Tanker operators led there, with COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation up 8.6 percent to 20.29 yuan and China Merchants Energy Shipping up 8.5 percent to 19.32 yuan.
The won traded at 1,359 won against the dollar, strengthening by 1.30 won from the previous session.
The buying that kept the index higher may not last, however. It came only after the other investor groups had sold, and Thursday's session showed little sign that foreign investors are ready to return.
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