Seoul shares end 0.34 pct higher on institutional buying

SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent higher
Wednesday as institutional investors went bargain hunting after two days of
sell-offs, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 5.46 points to
1,611.88. Volume was light at 276.9 million shares worth 3.31 trillion won
(US$2.86 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 408 to 378.
"Institutional buying helped the KOSPI trade in positive territory, but the
market is generally lacking strong upward momentum," said Sung Jin-kyung, an
analyst at Daeshin Investment & Securities Co.
Although institutional investors bought a net 80.7 billion won worth of shares,
sell-offs by foreign investors prevented the KOSPI from rising further.
Most large caps gathered ground. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.94
percent to close at 749,000 won, and Hyundai Motor dropped 0.2 percent to 100,000
won.
Shares of LG Household & Health Care Ltd. shot up 5.2 percent to 283,000 won
following the company's acquisition the previous day of a smaller cosmetics
rival.
Bank shares sharply lost ground. KB Financial Group, which controls top lender
Kookmin Bank, lost 1.75 percent to 61,700 won. Korea Exchange Bank went down 2.68
percent to end at 14,550 won, after recent rallies based on market speculation
that the firm may soon find a buyer.
The local currency ended at 1,153.3 won against the greenback, up 3.5 won from
Tuesday's close, as offshore investors increased their holdings of local
currency, dealers said.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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