Shares up ahead of ECB meeting

Korean stocks closed 0.38 percent higher on Thursday as investors pinned hopes on the upcoming European Central Bank meeting, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 7.21 points to 1,881.24, snapping a two-session losing streak.

Trading volume was heavy at 733.7 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won ($3.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 448 to 345.

“There were concerns that Germany would be opposed to ECB policies. But a report that German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers she can accept temporary bond buying relieved investors,” said Kim Young-jun, an analyst at SK Securities Co. The ECB is set to hold a meeting later in the day.

“But we’d have to wait a bit more for the market to find direction,” Kim added.

Techs fueled the gain. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.59 percent to 1,196,000 won after announcing global sales of its Galaxy S3 phones topped 20 million units.

Game developer NCsoft surged 4.09 percent to 280,000 won on hopes its recently-released online game Guild Wars 2 will boost profits.

Mobile carriers ended bullish despite a court ruling that ordered South Korea’s communications watchdog to disclose cost structures of three local mobile carriers, a move that could potentially force them to slash service fees. Top player SK Telecom added 2.04 percent to 150,000 won and smaller rival KT jumped 3.2 percent to 35,500 won.

Department store operators ended in negative territory amid an ongoing anti-trust probe by the Fair Trade Commission. Hyundai Department Store slumped 3.14 percent to 139,000 won and Shinsegae fell 0.92 percent to 215,000 won.

Some market heavyweights also underperformed on the KOSPI, with chip giant SK hynix losing 1.42 percent to 20,900 won.

The local currency closed at 1,133.8 won against the greenback, up 2.2 won from Wednesday’s close, as the euro strengthened ahead of the ECB meeting, dealers said. (Yonhap News)