Seoul shares rose on Friday fuelled by the biggest foreign net buying in two months, as optimism over the economic outlook boosted shares in banks such as Hana Financial Group. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended up 1.73 percent at 2,004.68 points.
"Positive data, including South Korea's industrial output numbers and US job data, fuelled the rebound today," said Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities. "The return of foreign investors has given the market significant support. However, the buying appears to be short-covering for now," said Kwak Joong-bo, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
Foreign investors were buyers of a net 390.5 billion won ($350.7 million) worth of stocks, the biggest net purchase in two months. The bought a net 265 billion won on the week, their first weekly net buying in five weeks. Shares in Samsung Electronics, the world's No 1 memory chip maker, rose 2.4 percent and Hynix Semiconductor, the world's No 2, climbed 2.6 percent. Trading volume was 330.5 million shares worth 6 trillion won. The KOSPI 200 March futures index finished up 5.25 points at 264.95. The KOSPI 200 spot index rose 4.94 points to 265.42. The junior Kosdaq market advanced 1.54 percent to 518.79.