Reports that the International Monetary Fund was considering help for Italy further boosted the market, analysts said, with institutions buyers of a net 120.5 billion won ($103.46 million) worth of stocks, poised to pick up shares for a third straight session. "Positive hopes for IMF help for Italy, and bargain hunting following last week's sharp falls are buoying the market, though sentiment remains cautious," said Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities. Prime Minister Mario Monti faces a testing week seeking to shore up Italy's strained public finances, with an IMF mission expected in Rome and market pressure building to a point where outside help may be needed to stem a full-scale debt emergency. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 2.12 percent at 1,813.98 points as of 0140 GMT. Technology stocks gained amid expectations of healthy sales in the United States over the holiday season. "We are hearing Black Friday sales are turning out pretty solid," said Chang In-beom, an analyst at Bookook Securities. "Investors are hoping this may be the start of a general recovery in demand for electronics." Having the right products at the right price at the right time helped make Best Buy Co Inc one of the early winners in what was a record start for US retailers to the holiday shopping season. More people headed to stores and websites over the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and average spending per person rose 9.1 percent as bargain-hunters scooped up discounts, a National Retail Federation survey on Sunday showed. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's No.1 memory chip maker and the world's No.2 handset maker, rallied 3.6 percent. LG Electronics Inc, the world's No.3 handset maker, jumped 8 percent and LG Display Co Ltd , the world's No.2 flat panel maker, advanced 6.1 percent. Construction issues were also firm on the back of overseas order expectations. Shares in Daewoo Engineering & Construction rose 3.3 percent after the firm said late on Friday it received a letter of award for an 830 billion won ($716.41 million) project to build a thermal power plant in Nigeria. Hyundai Engineering & Construction climbed 3.6 percent, and Samsung Engineering gained 3.4 percent. Defensive issues underperformed as appetite for safer assets waned. Lotte Shopping edged down 0.1 percent and KT&G , a tobacco and ginseng producer, declined 1 percent.