SEOUL: South Korean stocks closed a tad higher on Tuesday after a massive amount of institutional buying helped keep the momentum going until the closing bell.
Korean stocks started weak over worries about the Chinese economy as the Shanghai Composite index fell eight.five-percent on Monday — the largest drop in eight years.
The KOSDAQ fell five.eight points, closing at a little over 745.
However, the benchmark KOSPI rose zero.two-nine points to 2,039 after finding some success in the last hour of trading.
The total trading volume stood at 491 million shares, worth 5.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Industry experts say at the start of the day, investors were worried about the Chinese economy and the effects of a possible U.S. interest rate hike, but they managed to find enough bargains to turn the market around.
Meanwhile, China’s stock market continued its freefall on Tuesday as investors shrugged off efforts by regulators to calm markets.
The Shanghai Composite closed down one.seven percent after recovering from a four-percent drop when the market opened.
China’s market slump is affecting countries around the world, fanning investor fears.
