Seoul shares closed sharply higher on Thursday after major central banks agreed to make cheaper dollar loans available to struggling European banks, and the Chinese central bank's decision to cut reserve requirements. "Confidence has been restored and investors are betting on the growing possibility of stability in Europe," said Kwak Joong-bo, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended up 3.72 percent at 1,916.18 points, the highest close in nearly four weeks. The KOSPI 200 index rose 4.3 percent, while the junior Kosdaq market advanced 0.7 percent. Institutions were buyers of a net 1.1 trillion won ($962.63 million) worth of stocks, picking up shares for a sixth straight session, and foreign investors purchased a net 634 billion won, buying stocks for a third consecutive session.
Gains were led by large-cap technology issues, with Samsung Electronics surging 7 percent to a fresh record closing high of 1.07 million won, buoyed further by a 6 percent jump in the US Philadelphia index overnight. Hynix Semiconductor rose 2.2 percent after local media outlet Edaily said the world's No 2 memory chip maker planned to invest 4 trillion won next year, which would be an 18 percent rise from this year. The company denied the report. China King Highway jumped 6 percent and China Great Star advanced 4.9 percent.
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