Seoul shares rose 0.7 percent on Friday, posting its highest- close ever and chalking up seven consecutive sessions of gains, helped by continued foreign buying amid an improving global economic backdrop. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 14.31 points at 2,121.01 points, a record closing high and less than 1 point away from an all-time intraday high of 2,121.06 hit in late January this year.
Foreign investors were buyers of a net 733.2 billion Korean won ($668.7m) worth of stocks, the biggest foreign net buying in nearly 5 months and picking up shares for a 13th consecutive session in the longest buying streak since October 2010. SK Telecom Co Ltd , the country's top wireless carrier, rose 1.2 percent after edging up a mere 0.3 percent in March, compared with the broader KOSPI's 8.6 percent rise during the month.