South Korean stocks edged up 0.22 percent Friday as exporters gathered ground on eased concerns over the weak Japanese yen, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 4.26 points to finish at 1,973.45. Trading volume was low at 278.3 million shares worth 3.67 trillion won ($3.25 billion) with gainers outstripping losers 420 to 383.

Market watchers said the overall gain came as blue chip exporters gathered ground on eased concerns over the weak yen, sparked by losses made on the Japanese stock market in the previous trading session.

Japan's stock market plunged more than 7 percent on Thursday, taking a beating from impacts of the Fed chief's hawkish remarks, a hike in Japan's government bond yield and weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data.

The weak Japanese yen has been considered a major drag on the export-reliant, fourth-largest economy in Asia as it inflicted foreign exchange losses, making its goods more expensive overseas.

"The market gain, however, was limited as hawkish remarks by the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the weak economic data from China continued to weigh down on investors' sentiment," said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities Co.

Bernanke said Wednesday that the Federal Reserve may reduce the purchase of state bonds when the labor market conditions improve.

The Federal Reserve's quantitative easing has been cited as one of the key growth engines on Wall Street.

British bank HSBC said Thursday that China's purchasing managers index (PMI) came at 49.6 percent in May, a tad lower than the market estimate of 50.4 percent. China is the biggest trading partner of South Korea.

The PMI is an index that measures the health of a country's manufacturing sector. A reading of 50 or above represents an expansion of the sector from the previous month while a reading of below 50 represents a contraction.

"South Korean stocks are expected to remain dull next week due to a lack of growth momentum in the market," Bae added.

Institutions scooped up a net 3.5 billion won, and individuals also bought more shares than they sold at 83 billion won. In contrast, foreign investors sold a net 83.6 billion won.

Carmakers closed bullish on the improved foreign exchange market, with Hyundai Motor rising 0.74 to 204,000 won and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors adding 0.7 percent to 57,700 won. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis gained 1.08 percent to 282,000 won.

Woori Finance added 3.96 percent to 11,800 won after it named the incumbent head of the banking unit as its new chief on Wednesday, paving the way for the government to resume the sale of the state-invested banking group.

In contrast, mobile carriers lost ground, with SK Telecom losing 0.45 percent to 220,500 won and LG Uplus moving down 1.63 percent to 12,100 won.

The local currency ended at 1,127.40 won against the greenback, up 1.3 won from Thursday's close as investors sat on the sidelines after a sharp decline posted in the previous trading session, dealers said. (Yonhap News)