SEOUL: Seoul shares rose on Friday, buoyed by signs of strength in the US economy and a solid bounce in battered refiners and automakers, but gains were limited by foreign investor selling that is set to continue for a sixth consecutive session.
Positive data from the United States lent support, but the market's gain could end up being modest and short-lived, said Yoo Soo-min, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities.
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a 3-1/2 year low last week, suggesting the weak US economy is gradually improving even though factory data proved more mixed.
"The market will be fairly rangebound through to the end of the year. We are pinning some hopes on first-quarter earnings," said Yoo.
Foreign investors were sellers of a net 29.7 billion won ($25.54 million) worth of stocks, poised to offload shares for a sixth consecutive session.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index was up 0.38 percent at 1,825.97 points as of 0246 GMT.
Shipbuilders and automakers, which had tumbled in the previous session, rose firmly.
Hyundai Motor Co advanced 2.2 percent after declining for three straight sessions. Kia Motors Corp was up 1.9 percent after six consecutive losing sessions.
Analysts said they were further helped by a rosy fourth-quarter earnings outlook.
Hyundai Motor was forecast to post a 55 percent year-on-year jump in fourth quarter net profit, and Kia Motors is expected to post 32 percent year-on-year growth, said Tong Yang Securities analyst Ahn Sang-joon.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd rose 0.2 percent and Samsung Heavy Industries firmed 1.6 percent.
Kolon Industries Inc a textile to chemicals company, fell 3.4 percent after a local media reported that cancer-causing agents had been found in fabrics of outdoor jackets manufactured by its fashion subsidiary.
A company spokeswoman confirmed the report and said affected products were being recalled.
This comes as an added negative to the company that had recently been ordered by a US court to pay DuPont $920.3 million in damages for violating trade secrets.
Fashion rivals Cheil Industries Inc and LG Fashion Corp rallied 3.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
Technology issues weighed, with LG Display Co Ltd , the world's No.2 flat panel maker, off 1.3 percent and Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's No.2 memory chip maker, down 3.5 percent.
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