Seoul shares closed higher Wednesday for the third consecutive session, driven by eased concerns over the longest-ever US government shutdown. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 44 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 4,150.39.
Trading volume was moderate at 327.08 million shares worth 15.43 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with gainers far outnumbering decliners 785 to 118.
The main index opened lower on losses in technology stocks but reversed course as large-cap shares rebounded.
Overnight, US stocks closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.18 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.25 percent.
Technology shares on Wall Street weakened after SoftBank Group sold its entire stake in Nvidia Corp. to help finance artificial intelligence investments.
Institutions bought a net 912.67 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting foreigners and individuals' stock selling of 427.99 billion won and 446.62 billion won, respectively.
Progress toward ending the US government shutdown continued to boost investor sentiment, analysts said.
The record-setting 42-day shutdown is expected to end as early as Wednesday after the Senate passed a temporary spending package. US President Donald Trump has expressed support for the legislation.
"Expectations for an imminent end to the shutdown buoyed investor sentiment, but gains in the Kospi were limited due to a lack of fresh upward momentum," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
In Seoul, auto and energy stocks led the gains.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor rose 2.42 percent to 275,500 won and its smaller affiliate Kia climbed 2.24 percent to 118,600 won.
Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gained 0.37 percent to 536,000 won, and leading refiner SK Innovation jumped 3.43 percent to 126,500 won.
Among decliners, Samsung Electronics fell 0.39 percent to 103,100 won and its chip rival SK hynix declined 0.32 percent to 617,000 won.
State-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. dropped 3.83 percent to 47,650 won, and LG Chem shed 1.5 percent to 393,500 won.
The local currency was quoted at 1,465.70 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 2.4 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
