(LEAD) Seoul stocks end up for 3rd day before Powell's Jackson Hole speech

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom, photo)

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks finished higher Friday as investors awaited the gathering of central bankers in the United States. The Korean won gained ground against the U.S. dollar.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 3.77 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 2,481.03, keeping the three-day winning streak. The Friday closing is down 0.54 percent from a week ago.

Trading volume was moderate at 500.41 million shares worth 7.8 trillion won (US$5.86 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 437 to 397.

Institutions and foreign investors picked up a net 234.67 billion won worth of shares, while retail investors sold off a net 254.24 billion won.

"China's economic stimulus helped lift Asian stocks in general. But that investors remain cautious about what Powell will say at the Jackson Hole meeting limited the market's rise," Park Sang-hyun, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities said.

Investors are closely watching what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will say about the U.S. central bank's rate hike plan, aimed at bringing inflation under control at the annual Jackson Hole meeting Friday (U.S. time).

Last month, the Fed raised its key interest rate by 75 basis points for the second straight month. The minutes of its July meeting hinted at continued aggressive monetary tightening to fight high inflation.

In Seoul, the market opened higher but erased much of the gains late in the session. Big-cap shares ended mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.5 percent to end at 60,000 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 1.06 percent to 95,100 won. Key battery maker LG Energy Solution went up 1.42 percent to 465,500 won.

Major chemical firm LG Chem closed flat.

Internet portal giant Naver shed 1.02 percent to 242,000 won, and platform operator Kakao lost 0.13 percent to 76,000 won. Samsung SDI dropped 0.17 percent to 586,000 won.

The local currency ended at 1,331.30 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.9 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year Treasurys declined 0.6 basis point to 3.525 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond gained 1.7 basis points to 3.615 percent.

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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