South Korean shares edged higher on Friday in a typically choppy holiday season trade, with the sentiment still supported by declining jobless numbers indicating growing strength in the US economy.
On Wednesday, Dow Industrials closed at a record high after US weekly jobless claims beat forecasts to fall for the fourth straight week, hot on the heels of revised GDP data that showed the US economy growing at its fastest in 11 years.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.23 per cent at 1,951.11 points as of 0220 GMT.
The main bourse posted humble gains across the board, with 15 out of the 17 KRX industry sub-indices trading in positive territory, while winning shares outnumbered losers nearly 2 to 1.
Doosan Heavy Industries climbed 2.9 per cent after winning a 1.8 trillion won ($1.64 billion) power plant deal in Vietnam. Samsung Engineering bucked wider trends to slip 2.1 per cent after Seoul’s city government suspended a construction deal worth 2.27 trillion won ($2.06 billion).
The South Korean won firmed against the dollar on Friday as investors booked year-end profits on the greenback’s recent gains.
Foreign inflows into local equities as well as exporters’ demand for settlements also provided support for the local currency. The won was quoted at 1,099.9 to the dollar as of 0220 GMT compared with Wednesday’s closing rate of 1,102.6.
South Korean financial markets were closed on Thursday for the Christmas holiday.