Seoul shares bounced back on Thursday, fuelled by foreign buying after the latest US data signalled the economy could absorb higher energy costs. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended up 2.2 percent at 1,970.66 points. The KOSPI 200 March futures index finished up 5.05 points at 259.70. The KOSPI 200 spot index rose 5.52 points to 260.48. The junior Kosdaq market advanced 1.49 percent to 510.94.
"Seoul shares underperformed their overseas peers in recent sessions, but the KOSPI is seen as having bottomed out and poised for a rebound," Cho Yong-hyun, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities, said. Foreign investors turned buyers of a net 159.2 billion won worth of stocks, after offloading shares for six straight sessions. Kia Motors, South Korea's No 2 automaker, spiked 6.63 percent, while top-ranked Hyundai Motor gained 2.79 percent.
Shares in Hynix Semiconductor, the world's No 2 memory chipmaker, rose 3.27 percent, while shares in top-placed Samsung Electronics advanced 0.54 percent. Samsung Engineering shares jumped 5.87 percent, while shares in Daewoo Engineering & Construction climbed 4.21 percent. Trading volume was 277.2 million shares worth 5.13 trillion won.