Seoul stocks rose 2 percent on Friday as investors, cheered by a rally on Wall Street, snapped up recently battered shares such as top lender Kookmin Bank and Hynix Semiconductor.
Kookmin Bank jumped 7.41 percent to 78,300 won as money flowed back into the market following the closure of the Bank of China's initial public offering, which raised $9.7 billion for the second biggest bank in China, traders said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) powered 2.06 percent higher to 1,322.43, recouping more than half of Thursday's loss. The index had its lowest close in nearly six months in the previous session, at 1,295.76.
"We're seeing emerging markets coming back after the correction," said Kim Tae-hong, a senior fund manager at Mirae Asset Investment Management, noting that Indian stocks have also rebounded strongly after the recent drop.
Foreign investors sold a net 78 billion won ($82.27 million) in shares, net sellers for a 13th straight session, but that was well down from Thursday's net 231.2 billion won.
Seoul stocks have been on a decline since hitting an all-time high of 1,464.70 on May 11, hurt by a drop in risk appetite as worries about US inflation, interest rates and slower economic growth weighed on sentiment.
Among the best performers was South Korea's largest tobacco maker KT&G Corp, which climbed 5.84 percent to 56,200 won on fresh speculation that US investors Carl Icahn and Warren Lichtenstein was preparing to launch a hostile take-over.
Major techn stocks were in favour. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd put on 0.65 percent to 620,000 won and Hynix Semiconductor Inc added 1.57 percent to 32,400 won.
SK Telecom climbed 5.06 percent to 218,000 won and KT Corp put on 0.62 percent to 40,850 won.
Trade volume reached 231.4 million shares worth 3.4 trillion won, up from 212 million shares worth 3.2 trillion won on Thursday. Gainers led decliners by 533 to 234 with 53 titles ending flat.
Retail investors sold a net 108.4 billion won worth of stocks but institutional investors bought a net of 184.2 billion won.
The June KOSPI 200 futures index rose 2.14 percent to 171.90 and the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index gained 2.08 percent to 171.83. South Korea's junior and tech heavy Kosdaq market settled up 2.21 percent at 633.91.