SEOUL: South Korean shares held on to tentative gains on Friday, boosted by a rally in Samsung Electronics while the broader market was encouraged by better-than-expected U.S economic growth.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.27 percent at 1,964.13 points as of 0155 GMT.
The U.S economy beat market expectations to grow 3.5 percent in the third quarter, signs that the world's largest economy is on a healthy growth track.
"Although consumer spending slowed, the third quarter is usually a slow season for consumption, and strong exports point to qualitative growth beyond the numbers on the surface," said Yoon Young-kyo, an analyst at IBK Securities.
The KOSPI was underpinned by a rally in blue-chip bellwether Samsung Electronics, which climbed 5 percent to extend sharp gains into a second day.
The world's largest smartphone maker announced a 60.1 percent drop in third-quarter profits on Thursday, in line with guidance figures released earlier in October, though tipping itself for a rebound in the fourth-quarter on the back of strong television and memory chip demand.
Investors are also hopeful that Samsung will either increase dividends or undertake a share buy-back program to protect stockholders, although the tech giant has declined to comment
on the subject.
Samsung's rally helped push the benchmark KOSPI 200 index up 0.6 percent to outperform the broader market.
Hyundai Heavy Industries bucked the trend to tumble 4.9 percent after reporting third-quarter operating losses of $1.8 billion on Thursday after trading hours, though paring losses after falling more than 10 percent just after the opening bell.
The South Korean won was little changed on Friday, although it surrendered modest early gains from the dollar finding strong support from upbeat U.S data and hawkish signals from the Fed.
The currency was quoted at 1,055.6 to the dollar as of 0155 GMT, compared to Thursday's close of 1,055.5.
December futures on three-year treasury bonds added
2 basis points to trade at 108.00.
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