Seoul shares logged on Friday their first weekly gain after four consecutive week of losses, rising 0.8 percent on the day, with institutions buying battered heavyweights. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.81 percent to 1,778.95 points after toggling between small gains and losses.
The recent downturn brought out investors looking for bargains, but turnover hit its lowest since March, as many stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key speech by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. "Expectations over Bernanke's speech are getting lower, but investors are also awaiting any positive message from US President Barack Obama next week to offer hopes on the economy," said Yoo Kyung-ha, a market analyst at Dongbu Securities.
Institutions bought 175.7 billion won ($161.6 million) worth of stocks, mainly purchasing tech and automobile shares. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis , the fourth-largest counter on the KOSPI, surged 4.8 percent and the world's No 2 computer chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor gained 3.8 percent.
LG Chem gained 3 percent after its holding firm LG Corp agreed to jointly develop electric cars with US automaker General Motors Co Polysilicon maker OCI jumped 6.9 percent as investors bet on stocks seen as cheap due to the recent market plunge. Foreign investors extended selling into a second consecutive session, offloading 63.5 billion won.
The country's top two mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT Corp tumbled on concerns over an intensifying spectrum auction likely to involve heavy costs. SK Telecom plunged 5.3 percent, its biggest percentage loss since October 2008, and KT fell 3 percent. The firms are currently in bidding for spectrum expected to run at nearly 1 trillion won ($919.5 million) as they race for a bigger piece of the burgeoning smartphone market. The junior Kosdaq market was up 0.4 percent. The KOSPI 200 spot index gained 1.98 points to 229.0 and the KOSPI 200 September futures advanced 0.86 percent or 1.95 points to 228.65.
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