South Korean shares hit record high

South Korean shares hit a record high on Friday as technology firms such as Samsung Electronics rose on expectations for a recovery in second-half profits, with gains underpinned by improving global corporate earnings.
Sectors seen to have good earnings potential also rose, with shares in top-ranked mobile operator SK Telecom Co touching their highest level since March 2004, and ending up 3.35 percent at 216,000 won.
However, shares in Hyundai Motor Co dropped 1.9 percent to 88,000 won, erasing earlier gains, after prosecutors said they would summon the auto maker's chairman Chung Mon-koo for questioning over allegations the group was involved in illegal political lobbying.
But powering the market, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's biggest maker of memory chips, rose 4.07 percent to 690,000 won, marking its biggest one-day percentage gain since it shot up 5.11 percent on January 4.
"The growing consensus is that second-half earnings, especially at IT companies will be better," said Kim Tae-hong, a senior fund manager at Mirae Asset Investment Management, citing an expected pickup in seasonal demand as a main factor.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.20 percent to end at 1,451.31, after earlier hitting a record 1,458.35. The index gained 1.3 percent for the week, its fourth consecutive weekly gain.
It was the KOSPI's fourth record high in six sessions, in a rally fuelled by heavy foreign buying, helping deflect worries over the impact of surging oil prices and a strong South Korean won currency.
"This level is already getting quite high given circumstances like oil prices and a possible correction in commodity markets," said Mirae Asset's Kim.
The KOSPI has gained 6.7 percent in April, marking a substantial turnaround from the January to March quarter, when its 1.4 percent loss made it the only major regional index to post a loss.
Gains among exporters were underpinned after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to its highest level in six years on Thursday following well-received corporate earnings.
European shares also ended at highs not seen for several years on Thursday on strong corporate earnings, including mobile phone giant Nokia.
Chip maker Hynix Semiconductor Inc rose 2.09 percent to 34,250 won.