[THE INVESTOR] Increased buying from outside the country and by pension funds saw South Korean shares end higher Aug. 18. The Korean won also advanced against the US dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI gained 11.72 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,055.47.

The rise followed overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.12 percent, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite index climbing 0.03 percent.



“Robust earnings of Samsung Electronics Co. also helped the main index, and eased concerns over a possible rate hike in the United States also fueled foreign buying,” said Na Jung-hyuk, an economist at Hyundai Securities.

Large-cap stocks traded mixed across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 4.73 percent to a record high of 1.64 million won (US$1,480), a day before the global release of its Galaxy Note 7 phablet.

Global chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.79 percent.

Meanwhile, top automaker Hyundai Motor was down 1.85 percent, and top auto parts-maker Hyundai Mobis declined 1.74 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,107.20 won against the US dollar, strengthening slightly 1.1 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)