Seoul shares snapped a three-session losing streak on Friday, lifted by a rally in shipbuilders including Daewoo Shipbuilding on order expectations. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 1.82 percent or 35.92 points at 2,013.14 points, nearing its 20-day moving average of 2,037.04 points after falling nearly 2 percent in the past three sessions.
The KOSPI has underperformed its regional peers in the past month, shedding 5.8 percent while the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan slipped 2.95 percent. Foreign investors were buyers of a net 97.3 billion won ($87.34 million) worth of stocks, picking up shares for a second consecutive session, though they remained net sellers of 2.1 trillion won so far this year.
Shipbuilders jumped after sharp falls on Thursday and following news Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering had won a $2 billion order from A.P. Moeller-Maersk AS to build 10 container ships. The KOSPI 200 March futures index rose 4.05 points to 265.70 points. The KOSPI 200 spot index advanced 4.57 points to 265.80 points.