Seoul Shares Close at New High on Shipbuilding
South Korean stocks hit a fresh closing high Thursday as investors picked up shipbuilding and machinery shares, taking a cue from overnight gains in U.S. markets, analysts said. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.98 points, or 0.94 percent, to 1,615.58. Volume was moderate at 445.7 million shares worth 4.67 trillion won (US$5.03 billion), with winners outpacing losers 544 to 226. Shipbuilders led the gain with top shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries rising 6.53 percent to 285,500 won. Steel shares gained ground. No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel advanced 2.45 percent to 48,150 won after a local brokerage raised its price estimate for the shares. Tech blue chips traded in negative territory.
Merger Talks In Singapore
Shares of Keppel Hitachi Zosen Ltd. and Keppel FELS Energy & Infrastructure Ltd. surged on market talk the two units of the Singapore conglomerate Keppel Corp. would be merged. Ship repair specialist Keppel Hitachi jumped as much as 47 percent to an eight-month high of S$0.575 before moving back to S$0.51, up 12 cents, in moderate trade of 3.7 million shares. KepFELS, which also has a marine business, rose eight cents to S$0.935 after surging as much as 17 percent earlier to S$1.00 -- a level not seen since the middle of March. Volume was high with more than 10 million shares traded. "The rumours are not new. It seems that day traders were riding the wave," said a senior trader at a local brokerage. A Keppel official said she was "not aware of any corporate development".
