South Korean shares ended higher on Thursday helped by increased buying by foreigners and pension funds. The local currency climbed against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index 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 Co. jumped 4.73 percent to a record high of 1.64 million won ($1,481), 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 Co. declined 1.74 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,107.20 won against the US dollar, up 1.10 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 0.5 basis point to 1.228 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond lost 1.5 basis points at 1.250 percent. (Yonhap)