Seoul: Stocks notch weekly gain on economic optimism

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed higher on Friday, ending the week with a slight gain, as optimism from improving US economic data and an upgrade of growth forecast for the domestic economy lifted sentiment.

The benchmark Kospi ended 32.68 points higher, or 1.09 per cent, at 3,041.01. For the week, the index gained 0.049 per cent.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.37 per cent and peer SK Hynix gained 1.50 per cent. LG Chem was up 1.78 per cent and Naver added 0.79 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund upgraded South Korea's 2021 growth forecast on Friday to 3.6 per cent from 3.1 per cent previously, supported by a rebound in tech exports and added fiscal stimulus.

Foreigners were net buyers of 296.6 billion won (S$353.2 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The trading volume on Kospi was 1,015.98 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 910, the number of advancing shares was 543.

REUTERS