SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korean stocks rebounded Friday, after sliding 0.4 percent in the previous session, as foreign investors kept purchasing local stocks for the 7th consecutive trading day.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 18.25 points, or 0.74 percent, to settle at 2,493.87. Trading volume stood at 1.06 billion shares worth 16.8 trillion won (15.1 billion U.S. dollars).
The KOSPI moved in a negative territory during the morning trading, but it turned upward as foreigners continued to buy domestic stocks for seven sessions running.
Institutional investors were net buyers, but retail investors dumped shares amid lingering concerns about the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and the United States.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases here stayed above 100 for the 6th consecutive day due to small cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area as well as imported cases.
The country's finance ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report that South Korea was still faced with economic uncertainty, caused by the prolonged pandemic that offset the recent improvement in domestic economic indicators.
Large-cap shares ended mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics soared 3.6 percent, and memory chip giant SK hynix climbed 1.8 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem was up 1.9 percent, and the biggest carmaker Hyundai Motor went up 2.0 percent.
Rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI declined 2.7 percent, and biopharmaceutical behemoth Celltrion slipped 0.7 percent.
The small-cap KOSDAQ lost 0.94 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 839.14.
The local currency finished at 1,115.6 won versus the greenback, down 0.8 won from the previous close.
Bond prices ended higher. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes fell 0.4 basis points to 0.965 percent, and the return on the 10-year government bonds lost 2.3 basis points to 1.627 percent. Enditem
