Seoul: Seoul shares closed higher Tuesday helped by retail buying, with investors trimming bets on the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate cuts amid a resilient U.S. economy. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.84 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 2,497.40, snapping a second-session losing streak.

According to Yonhap News Agency, trade volume was moderate at 406.24 million shares worth 8 trillion won (US$5.46 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 509 to 363. Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.86 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 0.38 percent.

Individuals bought a net 296.8 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting institutions and foreigners' stock selling valued at 350 billion won. Investors worry the robust job market and persistent inflation in the United States will make it hard for the Fed to continue with its easing cycle, analysts said.

Large-cap stocks were mixed. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.91 percent to 222,000 won, and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings climbed 0.97 percent to 259,500 won. Hanwha Ocean, formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, jumped 6.2 percent to 47,950 won, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 3.02 percent to 358,000 won.

Among decliners, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.37 percent to 53,900 won, state-run Korea Gas Corp. declined 1.39 percent to 35,600 won, and leading cosmetics firm AmorePacific shed 1.96 percent to 115,300 won. The local currency was quoted at 1,463.20 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 7.6 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 1.8 basis points to 2.646 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds shed 1 basis point to end at 2.736 percent.