Seoul: Stocks hit 6-month high on foreign buying, Fed stimulus hopes

[SEOUL] South Korean stocks rose for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday to close at their highest in six months amid continued strong foreign investor buying, with the US Federal Reserve pledging to utilise all ts means for economic recovery.

The benchmark Kospi closed up 3.85 points, or 0.17per cent, at 2,267.01. The index rose as much as 0.8 per cent in early trading to its highest intraday level since early October 2018.

Foreigners were net buyers of US$187.84 million worth of shares on the main board.

Risk sentiment was buoyed after the US Federal Reserve kept its policy setting unchanged, while pledging it would use its full range of tools" if needed.

Meanwhile, the Fed and the Bank of Korea agreed to renew an existing currency swap agreement by six months to at least March 31 2021.

Shares of Samsung Electronics closed flat after the company posted a 23 per cent jump in operating profit in the April-June quarter, and expected a further pick-up in chip demand in the second half of the year.

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Its peer SK Hynix, the world's No 2 chipmaker, gained 2.5 per cent.

REUTERS