South Korean shares rallied to a 4-week closing high on Friday as investors cheered a massive bond-buying stimulus programme unveiled by the European Central Bank (ECB). The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.79 percent to close at 1,936.09. The South Korean won firmed by a whisker against the dollar, paring earlier gains on suspected dollar-buying smoothing operations to check the won's strength against the Japanese yen.
The local currency was quoted at 1,084.1 to the dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, compared with 1,084.9 seen at the end of Thursday's session.