![An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2025/07/CP-2023-0309/30704577.jpg)
Seoul shares closed higher Thursday, bolstered by gains in auto and shipbuilding stocks, despite ongoing investor concerns over U.S. tariff policies. The Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar.
Trading volume was moderate, with 416.29 million shares worth 14.95 trillion won (US$10.7 billion) changing hands. Losers outnumbered gainers 470 to 390.
Institutional and foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing 159.84 billion won and 50.13 billion won worth of stocks, respectively. Individual investors, however, offloaded a net 335.64 billion won.
Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities Co., noted that persistent worries over President Trump’s tariffs dampened market sentiment, while profit-taking in SK hynix limited gains in the main index.
President Trump recently notified key U.S. trading partners, including South Korea, of new reciprocal tariffs scheduled to take effect August 1, unless they negotiate more favorable trade terms with Washington.
In Seoul, blue-chip stocks showed mixed performance.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics surged 3.09 percent to 66,700 won, while semiconductor giant SK hynix plummeted 8.95 percent to 269,500 won.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, affirming lower court rulings that cleared him of financial misconduct related to a 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that consolidated his control over the conglomerate.
SK hynix’s sharp decline followed Goldman Sachs’ downgrade of the chipmaker to neutral from buy, citing potential drops in high-bandwidth memory prices next year amid intensifying competition.
Leading automaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.2 percent to 210,000 won, while major shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean climbed 3.46 percent to 80,700 won.
Top battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.93 percent to 317,000 won, and cosmetics giant Amorepacific added 2 percent to 137,700 won.
Among decliners, leading refiner SK Innovation slipped 0.45 percent to 111,600 won, and retail giant Lotte Shopping edged down 0.26 percent to 75,900 won.
The Korean won was trading at 1,392.60 against the U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., down 6.9 won from the previous session’s close. (Yonhap)
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