Seoul shares up 0.55 pct on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks closed 0.55 percent higher Wednesday, buoyed by strong foreign buying following a rally on Wall Street overnight, analysts said. The local currency rose sharply against the U.S. dollar.
  

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 10.82 points to finish at 1,962.79. Trading volume was moderate at 342.1 million shares worth 4.95 trillion won ($4.53 billion) with advancers far outpacing decliners 535 to 274.
  

Analysts said a bullish run in U.S. markets on Tuesday, led by a gain in energy shares from a rebound in oil prices, prompted offshore investors to scoop up local equities.
  

"We need to see more foreigners come in for the stock market to continue its upward momentum," said Kim Jeong-hwan, an analyst at KDB Daewoo Securities Co.
  

The Dow Jones industrial average soared 1.8 percent, with the S&P 500 climbing nearly 1.5 percent, as U.S. benchmark Western Texas Intermediate crude oil prices hiked 7 percent to $53 per barrel.
  

Foreigners bought more shares than they sold, worth a net 226.7 billion won on the main bourse, the largest amount since Dec. 9. Institutions also joined the buying binge, snapping up a net 29.6 billion won. Retail investors dumped a net 249.8 billion won.
  

Retail firms and builders drove up the KOSPI. Industry leader E-mart surged 4.18 percent to 212,000 won, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction rising 1.51 percent to 43,600 won.
  

In contrast, shares of top-cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.51 percent to 1,359,000 won. SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, also lost 0.88 percent to 280,000 won.
  

The local currency ended at 1,084.10 won against the greenback, up 13.3 won from Tuesday's close, mainly due to a weaker dollar stemming from concerns over a slowdown in the world's largest economy, dealers said.
  

The U.S. government reported a lower-than-expected growth of 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, below the market consensus of 3.2 percent.
  

Its latest exports and facility investment also slowed over the cited period, undercutting the outlook that the U.S. economy is picking up solidly.
 

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 2.6 basis points to 1.961 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds gained 3.5 basis points to 2.040 percent. (Yonhap)