SEOUL-- South Korean stocks closed higher Friday as foreign investors scooped up local shares ahead of the release of U.S. jobs data. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 25.21 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 3,201.06 points.
Trading volume was moderate at 630.25 million shares worth 12.86 trillion won (US$10.87 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 524 to 311.
Foreigners bought a net 580.1 billion won worth of local shares, while retail investors offloaded a net 468.1 billion won. Institutions sold a net 77.2 billion won.
The key index got off to a strong start, tracking an upbeat session on Wall Street.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.37 percent, and the tech heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 0.14 percent as investors awaited the U.S. labor market report Friday.
Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min said expectations of slower U.S. jobs growth last month fueled investor hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve may push back plans to scale back some of its accommodative monetary policies.
Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the U.S. central bank could taper its asset purchases this year as the U.S. economy rebounds from the pandemic-induced slump.
Most large caps in Seoul closed higher.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.79 percent to 76,600 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.47 percent to 107,000 won.
Drugmaker SK Bioscience jumped 9.12 percent to 335,000 won on reports it will be included in the Korea Exchange's K-New Deal Index next week and its COVID-19 vaccine candidate entering phase three clinical trials earlier this week.
LG Electronics surged 10.04 percent to 153,500 won amid reports that U.S. tech giant Apple could work with South Korean companies on its car development project.
Internet portal operator Naver moved up 2.26 percent to 452,500 won, and online messaging giant Kakao added 0.97 percent to 156,500 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.42 percent to 214,500 won, while online lender KakaoBank declined 1.34 percent to 80,800 won.
The local currency closed at 1,157.0 won against the U.S. dollar, up 4.5 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 1.5 basis points to 1.437 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond added 1.2 basis points to 1.696 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency