South Korean shares may gather ground next week as stimulus hopes build up ahead of impending leadership changes in the U.S. and China, analysts said Saturday.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1918.72 last week, up 1.4 percent from a week earlier, boosted by improved consumer sentiment in the U.S.

Foreign investors purchased a combined net 170 billion won ($155.7 million) worth of shares, while institutional investors purchased a net 130 billion won. Individual investors offloaded 320 billion won.

The KOSPI hovered below the 1,900-point earlier last week due to Hurricane Sandy striking the U.S., which was expected to cause some of the worst storm damage to the country in a decade.

However, improved economic data in both the U.S. and China gave an upward momentum to the local stock market in the latter half of the week, returning it to the 1,900-point, analysts said.

“Local shares are expected to show an upward movement this week, continuing the politically-driven rally this week,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst from KDB Daewoo Securities.

The analyst added that the stock market will face less volatility if U.S. President Barack Obama, who implemented a third round of quantitative easing, is re-elected.

The Federal Reserve pledged in September to pump $40 billion every month into the U.S. economy by buying mortgage-backed securities in QE3.

Meanwhile, the anticipated leadership change in China this week also counts as a positive factor, as the Chinese stock market has reported upward movements ahead of such political events in previous years.

Tech firms and pharmaceuticals were the biggest gainers last week, adding 6.1 percent and 5 percent, respectively. In contrast, machinery firms and automakers lost ground. (Yonhap News)