Seoul stocks likely to further advance next week on stimulus: analysts

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks are expected to continue to build up gains next week, buoyed by hopes for stimulus efforts meant to minimize the economic fallout from the new coronavirus, analysts said Saturday.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,860.70 points on Friday, up 7.8 percent from a week ago.

Analysts said the local stock market next week may be affected by stimulus measures and the pace of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Kim Byung-yeon, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co., said upside factors next week include additional potential U.S. stimulus measures and global policy coordination to fight the coronavirus pandemic that has caused business shutdowns around the world.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Federal Reserve unveiled programs worth US$2.3 trillion to help the world's No. 1 economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The provision of liquidity programs that also include junk bonds improved investor sentiment.

But Kim said there are worries that COVID-19 could further spread again following the lifting of Chinese restrictions imposed on the movement of its people in the country's central city of Wuhan, where COVID-19 was first reported in late December.

For the time being, the main index could flip-flop, depending on the rise and fall in the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States and Europe, Kim said.

Kim Yong-ku, an analyst at Hana Financial Group, said investors will also closely watch first-quarter earnings results from companies from next week. He forecast the main index to trade at between 1,820 and 1,870 points next week.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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