Seoul shares rose on Friday, rebounding from an early 1.6 percent drop, as gains by some technology and pharmaceutical issues lent support to the index. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 0.61 percent at 1,420.04 points.
"It looks like investors were taking the market's earlier falls to buy into the market more cheaply, and this seems to indicate that investors here are bullish on listed companies and their earnings in the longer term," said So Jang-ho, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
"Program buying and pension funds' purchase into stocks lent support to the index," said Ham Sung-sik, a market analyst at Daishin Securities. Institutions were buyers of a net 142.3 billion won ($111.9 million), with pension funds picking up a net 60 billion won.
Analysts also said North Korea's firing of short-range missiles had little impact on Seoul stocks. Key technology issues including Hynix Semiconductor and LG Display rose amid earnings hopes for South Korean tech firms. LG Display, the world's No 2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD), climbed 3.54 percent, amid expectations that the flat screen maker likely swung back to a profit in the second quarter on healthy TV demand and a panel price recovery.
"Thanks to steadily robust demand for LCDs, LG Display's earnings are expected to come out solid in both the second and third quarters," said Lee Sung-joon, an analyst at SK Securities. Hynix Semiconductor gained 2.4 percent after key DRAM memory chip spot prices advanced in a range of 1 to 2 percent, according to DRAMeXchange, an electronic parts research firm. LG Life Sciences ended up 4.55 percent and Green Cross jumped 4.59 percent.
SK Energy, South Korea's top crude refiner, fell 1.54 percent, and GS Holdings, holding company of South Korea's No 2 crude refiner GS Caltex, declined 0.17 percent. Foreign investors bought a net 72.8 billion won worth of shares. Retail investors sold a net 213.8 billion won.
Advancers led decliners 468 to 304, with 104 unchanged. Trading volume stood at 392 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won, compared with 455.7 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won on Thursday. The KOSPI 200 September futures index rose 0.85 points to 182.70, while the KOSPI 200 spot index advanced 1.07 points to end at 182.92. The junior Kosdaq market ended 1.17 percent higher at 501.82 points.
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