(LEAD) Seoul shares up for 3rd day on Samsung, batteries

SEOUL, South Korean stocks finished up for a third consecutive session Tuesday backed by a strong earnings performance by top cap Samsung Electronics and overnight U.S. stock gains. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.62 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,692.06. Trade volume was moderate at 450 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won (US$8.03 billion). Winners outpaced losers 439 to 408. Institutions and foreign investors combined bought a net 522 billion won, while retail investors unloaded a net 527 billion won worth of shares. Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip manufacturer, announced earlier in the day its first-quarter operating profit shot up more than tenfold from a year ago in the first quarter, with its chip business shifting to the black for the first time in five quarters. Overnight, Wall Street shares advanced ahead of key corporate earnings announcements and the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision meeti ng this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq also added 0.4 percent. The SandP 500 gained 0.3 percent. Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the earnings performance of key companies, including Samsung Electronics, was a key factor in the KOSPI's rise during the session. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics went up 1.04 percent to 77,500 won, while consumer electronics rival LG Electronics gained 0.1 percent to end at 92,900 won. Battery shares and energy shares also advanced. Top battery company LG Energy Solution climbed 2.77 percent to 389,000 won and leading chemical company LG Chem added 1.77 percent to end at 402,500 won. Finance shares, however, lost ground, with Kookmin Financial tumbling 1.31 percent to 75,600 won and Samsung Life Insurance dropping 1.24 percent to 87,500 won. The local currency closed at 1,382 won against the U.S. dollar, down 5 won from the previous session's close. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ros e. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 2.3 basis points to 3.529 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds dropped 3.4 basis points to 3.586 percent. Source: Yonhap News Agency