Seoul shares posted their highest close in 12 weeks on Thursday, buoyed by an agreement among European leaders to beef up the region's bailout fund and rallies in steelmakers and shipyards including POSCO and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended up 1.46 percent or 27.73 points at 1,922.04 points, the highest close since early August.
Foreign investors were buyers of a net 172 billion won ($151.9 million) worth of stocks, and institutions purchased a net 209 billion won. Steelmakers rallied, with POSCO, the world's No 3 steelmaker, ending up 4.9 percent and Hyundai Steel up 10 percent.
Firm gains in shipyards also gave support, with Hyundai Heavy Industries up 5.7 percent and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering gaining 9.7 percent. LG Electronics, the world's No 3 handset producer, rose 1.9 percent, extending gains from Wednesday despite reporting worse-than-expected third quarter losses, highlighted by its struggles in the handset arena. The KOSPI 200 spot index finished up 1.5 percent at 251.20 points and the junior Kosdaq market slipped 0.09 percent to 497.04 points.
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