Seoul shares ended slightly higher on Thursday after sinking to a near one-month low earlier in the session, initially weighed by worries over a weak Spanish bond auction and dashed hopes of additional US stimulus, but later rebounding at a key support level.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 0.5 percent at 2,028.77 after falling as much as 1 percent during morning trade to inch below the psychologically significant 2,000-point level that triggered strong technical support. "Early on, the index extended Wednesday's fall on dashed QE3 hopes compounded by worries of possible fallout from Spain, but the market showed strong resilience in defending the 2,000 point threshold with investors viewing the correction as exaggerated," said Lim Dong-rak, an analyst at Hanyang Securities.
The focal point of the rally was centred around earnings-driven stocks in the automobile and technology sectors expected to yield strong first-quarter results. Automakers were highlight performers, riding strong US sales figures and a positive outlook on earnings and future business conditions. Hyundai Motor Co climbed 4.1 percent while KIA Motors Corp gained 3.3 percent.
SK Hynix Inc led sector peers to finish up 1.5 percent after the Nikkei reported that Toshiba Corp may abandon its solo bid for Japanese memory chip maker Elpida to team up with SK Hynix for a joint take-over. Institutions reverted to being net buyers after dumping the most shares in two months on Wednesday, picking up a net 110.4 billion won ($97.7 million) worth on the day.