South Korean shares crept up to close at their highest since January 22 on a day many investors stayed the sidelines before G20 finance officials meet in Moscow. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.08 percent on Friday to 1,981.18 points. "The G-20 meeting would pave the way to put a brake on the sharp fall of the yen for the past two months," said Cho Young-hyun, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.
During the two-day gathering, finance officials from the Group of 20 nations are expected to debate Japan's monetary expansion policies, which have driven down the value of the yen. Automakers, who rebounded recently, fell on Friday. Hyundai Motor was down 1.4 percent and Kia Motors eased 0.4 percent. Ssangyong Motor Co ended down 0.5 percent. Early in the day, the stock rallied after the automaker said its top shareholder India's Mahindra & Mahindra would participate in a $74 million new share issue. KB Financial Group dropped 2.1 percent after Dutch financial services group ING said it sold its 5 percent stake to institutional investors for about 500 million euros ($672 million). Korean Air Lines fell 1.1 percent.
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