Seoul shares up 0.79 pct on ECB step

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday as investors cheered the stimulus plan by the European Central Bank released overnight to revitalize the moribund eurozone economy, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 15.27 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 1,936.09. Trading volume was moderate at 359.36 million shares worth 4.57 trillion won ($4.22 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 330.

The ECB said it would spend 60 billion euros ($68.1 billion) a month starting in March to buy assets, including sovereign and private-sector bonds, a move that came amid rising concerns over the 19-nation eurozone's stagnant growth and deflationary woes.

The bank said the program will be maintained through at least September 2016, expecting more than 1 trillion euros to be funneled into the eurozone economy.

"If the ECB's quantitative easing leads to the revival of the eurozone economy, it will also bring positive effects to the local economy," said Lim Noh-jung, an analyst at I'M Investment & Securities Co. "The South Korean financial market can also expect the influx of capital from Europe."

Foreign investors bought more shares than they sold at 100.4 billion won, while individuals sold a net 112.4 billion won. Institutions offloaded a net 95.5 billion won.

Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.58 percent to 1,386,000 won and top chipmaker SK hynix moving up 1.06 percent to 47,500 won. LG Display added 0.72 percent to 35,050 won.

Logistics shares also closed bullish, with CJ Korea Express moving up 1.74 percent to 175,000 won and Korean Air adding 1.5 percent to 44,000 won. Hyundai Merchant Marine advanced 1.48 percent to 10,300 won.

Amore Pacific, a cosmetics giant, climbed 4.21 percent to 2,600,000 won amid the rising hope over its performance down the road.

Daelim Industrial, a local builder, shed 5.82 percent to 53,400 won due to its weaker-than-expected result for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Carmakers closed mixed, with Hyundai Motor closing unchanged at 168,000 won, while its auto-parts arm Hyundai Mobis added 1.8 percent to 355,000 won. Its smaller affiliate Kia Motors, on the other hand, shed 1.89 percent to 49.250 won following its weak fourth-quarter business results.

The local currency closed at 1,084.10 won per dollar, up 0.80 won from Thursday's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys went down 3.6 basis points to 2.027 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds shed 5 basis points to 2.125 percent. (Yonhap)