The South Korean stock market is expected to continue to gain ground this week but uncertainties from the eurozone debt problems will limit investor sentiment, analysts said Saturday.

The benchmark KOSPI closed at 1,929.48 on Friday, up 91.1 points or 4.96 percent from a week earlier. The index was boosted on reports that European leaders reached an agreement on plans to recapitalize banks.

Foreigners led the rally by scooping up shares worth 1.7 trillion won ($1.54 billion), while retail investors offloaded 2.1 trillion won worth of shares to take profit.

Market observers said that the movement of local shares this week will largely depend on the outcomes of upcoming political and economic events in Europe and the United States, and economic data scheduled to be released this week.

The Group of 20 Summit will take place in France on Thursday, in which global leaders are expected to come up with feasible plans to resolve the European debt problem.

South Korea’s trade balance and consumer prices will be released on Tuesday and the United States will also publish its manufacturing figures on Tuesday.

“As Europe seems to somewhat ride out the fiscal crisis in the short-term, investors’ attention will now shift to economic indicators,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Daewoo Securities.

“They have to focus on South Korea’s trade balance and U.S. manufacturing and employment data.” 

(Yonhap News)