The South Korean stock market is likely to continue its upward move next week as investor sentiment is boosted by a stimulus measure in the eurozone and continued buying by foreign investors, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,012.94 points on Friday, marking the highest level in five months and a 1.2 percent rise from a week ago, as the European Central Bank's upgrade in its growth estimate for the eurozone economy and a bond-purchasing program set to start Monday boosted investors' sentiment here.
This week, China's interest rate cut, coupled with a positive response to Samsung's newest smartphone, the Galaxy S6, helped the local stock market to creep up, analysts said.
"The European Central Bank's measure to buy state bonds worth 60 billion euros per month would fuel foreign buying of local stocks," said Noh Aram, an analyst at KDB-Daewoo Securities.
Foreign investors scooped up some 800 billion won (US$728 million) worth of local stocks this week, extending their buying streak to a 10th consecutive day on Friday, while retail and institutional investors opted to sell.
Investors are also paying attention to a set of key events next week.
The Bank of Korea, the country's central bank, is scheduled to hold its monthly rate-setting meeting on Thursday, with analysts betting on a freeze of the base rate at a record low of 2 percent.
The central bank trimmed its policy rate twice last year to help Asia's fourth-largest economy grow.
Electronics and logistics shares were among the gainers this week, while textiles and financial stocks suffered losses. (Yonhap)
