[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil = dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
South Korean stocks hit an all-time high Thursday helped by foreign buying and robust corporate earnings.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 21.57 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,241.24. Foreigners remained net buyers of local stocks, purchasing more than 361 billion won ($318 million), while institutions sold shares worth more than 333 billion won.
Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at KB Securities Co., said foreign buying and improved corporate earnings pushed the main index to a record high in six years.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 1.38 percent to 2,276,000 won, and chip giant SK hynix was up 0.90 percent to 55,900 won. The state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. declined 0.67 percent to 44,450 won, and top steelmaker POSCO was down 2.36 percent to 268,500 won.
The local currency closed at 1,132.70 won against the US dollar, down 2.20 won from the previous session's close.
(Yonhap)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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