SEOUL-- The South Korean stock market extended its winning streak to a third session Thursday, buoyed by advances by tech and auto issues. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 13.69 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 2,998.17 points.
Trading volume was moderate at about 476 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won (US$7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 477 to 358.
Foreigners bought a net 224 billion won and institutions purchased 579 billion won, while retail investors offloaded 819 billion won.
After opening with mild gains, the key stock index gained ground mostly driven by tech advances.
Investment sentiment for tech firms was buoyed by reports that South Korean chipmaker SK hynix successfully received approval from Chinese authorities for its acquisition of Intel Corp.'s NAND memory chip business, clearing the final hurdle for the merger process.
Telsa's overnight rallies also bolstered market mood for major automakers here.
"SK hynix's acquisition and Tesla's gains seem to have had a positive impact on the chip and auto stocks," said Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Huh Jae-hwan.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.63 percent to 79,900 won, and LG Electronics surged 5.70 percent to 37,000 won. No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.39 percent to 127,500 won.
Hyundai Motor moved up 1.21 percent to 209,000 won, and chemical giant LG Chem advanced 1.44 percent to 634,000 won.
Among losers, pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics retreated 0.55 percent to 896,000 won, and internet portal operator Naver edged down 0.13 percent to 378,000 won.
The local currency closed at 1,187.9 won against the U.S. dollar, up 4.1 won from the previous session's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency