South Korean stocks closed higher for a third consecutive session Thursday, boosted by hopes for a rate cut in the United States. The local currency was trading almost unchanged against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 26.04 points, or 0.66 percent, to close at 3,986.91.
Trade volume was moderate at 251.6 million shares worth 12.85 trillion won ($8.77 billion), with winners outpacing decliners 482 to 389.
Foreigners and institutions purchased a net 149.6 billion won and 431.9 billion won worth of local shares, respectively, while individuals offloaded a net 609.3 billion won.
The KOSPI had opened sharply higher, climbing more than 1 percent, to track overnight gains on Wall Street.
On Wednesday, US stocks closed broadly higher, extending its winning streak to a fourth day as investors anticipated a possible easing by the US Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8 percent.
However, the Seoul market later pared its earlier gains as the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid what analysts interpreted as a more hawkish tone from policymakers.
The Bank of Korea kept the key rate steady at 2.5 percent and raised the economic growth forecast for the country to 1 percent for 2025.
"The BOK's rate freeze and expectations of a US rate cut in December helped attract foreign funds into both the spot and futures markets, supporting a rebound in the index," said Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities.
Most large-cap shares traded mixed.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.68 percent to 103,500 won and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 3.82 percent to 544,000 won on eased artificial intelligence fears.
No. 1 internet company Naver shed 4.55 percent to 251,500 won after Dunamu Inc., the operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, announced that it suffered a massive hacking attack. Naver announced the acquisition of Dunamu the previous day.
Leading biotech firm Samsung Biologics fell 0.3 percent to 1.65 million won, and major banking group KB Financial Group went down 0.8 percent to 123,700 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,464.75 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 0.8 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
