SEOUL: Seoul shares rebounded on Friday, helped by positive US data, but gains were capped by foreign investor selling and high oil prices.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) traded 0.46 percent higher at 2,016.94 points as of 0109 GMT, reversing losses earlier in the day.
The KOSPI briefly fell below the 2,000-point level for the first time since Feb. 16.
"High oil prices burdened shares, especially after the KOSPI reached above the 2,000-point level," Kim Hak-kyun, an analyst at Daewoo Securities, said.
"Valuations are not cheap and a correction is expected to continue next week," he said.
Foreign investors offloaded shares for a second consecutive day, while institutions continued selling for an eighth straight session.
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week held at the lowest level since the early days of the 2007-2009 recession, while US home prices rose 0.7 percent in December from November.
But Brent crude rose for a fourth day, hitting a fresh nine-month high and a record in euro terms on Thursday, creating renewed concerns for cash-strapped Europe on heightened tensions between Iran and the West.
Shares in Hyundai Motor extended falls, down 1.14 percent following a court ruling on Thursday in favour of a former subcontracted worker at the automaker that prompted its union to call on the company to turn some contract workers into regular employees.
Shares in Kia Motors was down 0.57 percent, while Hyundai Mobis lost 0.36 percent.
Shipbuilders were relatively firm, with STX Offshore & Shipbuilding up 3.34 percent and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering gaining 1.78 percent.
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