Seoul shares advanced on Monday as US lawmakers struck a debt-ceiling deal to avert a rapidly approaching default. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended the day 1.83 percent higher to 2,172.31 points, led by Samsung Electronics which gained 3.1 percent.
Analysts said the toughest part of the battle over the US debt issue appeared to be over but hurdles to close the long-running saga remained. "Uncertainties around the issue have died down but we still need to keep an eye on final approval and the US credit rating," said Park Seok-hyun, a strategist at KTB Investment & Securities.
Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's No 2 memory chip maker, jumped 5.4 percent, while flat screen maker LG Display gained 4.6 percent. Foreign investors snapped up a net 253 billion won ($240 million) worth of stocks, ending a five-session selling streak.
Kia Motors, the country's No 2 carmaker, surged 4.5 percent helped by forecast-beating quarterly results on Friday, which prompted brokerages to upgrade share price targets. Investors were also cheered by Kia posting a 15 percent rise in July vehicle sales.
SK Innovation, which owns the country's largest refiner SK Energy, rose 2.3 percent and its rival S-Oil spiked 5 percent. Gainers outnumbered losers by 626 to 229. KOSPI 200 September futures rose 5.45 points to 283.60 and the KOSPI 200 spot index gained 5.25 points to 282.36. The junior Kosdaq market finished up 1.56 percent at 544.39.
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