[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares ended higher on Sept. 19, helped by increased buying by foreigners. The local currency climbed against the US dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI gained 16.42 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,015.78.

Investors will closely watch the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s discussion on monetary policy in September, which will be released later this week.

Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities, said local stocks rose as foreigners increased their purchasing volume of local stocks and the Chinese stock market turned higher. 


Foreigners remained net buyers of local stocks with a purchase worth more than 47 billion won (US$42 million), while institutions sold a net 273 billion won on profit-taking.

Most large-cap stocks advanced across the board.

Leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific Corp. gained 2.91 percent, and Kia Motors Corp. was up 0.57 percent.

“Bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.03 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. was up 3.70 percent, pushing up the benchmark index,” Kim said.

Meanwhile, top automaker Hyundai Motor was down 1.08 percent, and state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. declined 0.17 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,118.10 won against the US dollar, up 0.70 won from the previous session’s close.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)