[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed higher on Monday on positive China factory activity numbers, although weak domestic data and fresh uncertainty around Sino-US trade deal capped gains. 

The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI ended up 3.96 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 2,091.92.

The KOSPI has risen 2.49 per cent so far this year, but gained 1.3 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index was 369.06 million shares and, of the total traded issues of 907, the number of advancing shares was 363.

China's Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) released on Monday rose to 51.8 in November, marking the fastest expansion since December 2016, while the country's official data showed that the PMI unexpectedly returned to growth in November.

South Korea's factory activity shrank for an eighth straight month in November, but there were some signs that the prolonged downturn may be easing, a private business survey showed.

The country's exports in November fell for the 12th month in a row and far more than expected.

Meanwhile, a trade deal between United States and China was now "stalled because of Hong Kong legislation", news website Axios reported on Sunday, citing a source close to US President Donald Trump's negotiating team.

REUTERS