"Markets were under pressure earlier from US bank worries following disappointing results from J.P. Morgan, but continued firm earnings expectations towards technology issues helped them turn higher," said Hwang Keum-dan, a market analyst at Samsung Securities. Foreign and retail investors were buyers of a net 16.9 billion won ($14.98 million) and 37.1 billion won respectively, while institutions offloaded 42.8 billion won.
Rallies in nuclear power related issues helped lift markets out of negative territory amid strengthening hopes a South Korean consortium including Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) may win nuclear power deals from Turkey.
Speculation a consortium including KEPCO and Doosan Heavy Industries was likely to win nuclear power facility orders from Turkey worth some 2 trillion-4 trillion won ($1.77 billion-$3.55 billion) was "pushing related shares higher," said Cho In-karp, a market analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp. A KEPCO spokesman declined to comment.
Shares in KEPCO finished up 4.68 percent and Doosan Heavy rose 7.85 percent. Shares in Korea Power Engineering Co Inc (KOPEC) jumped 14.98 percent. Gains in key technology issues also lent markets support, with shares in LG Electronics advancing 2.27 percent and LG Display rising 1.86 percent.
But losses in banks weighed, as KB Financial Group, the parent firm of South Korea's top commercial lender Kookmin Bank, fell 2.44 percent, and Shinhan Financial Group declined 2.33 percent. Shares in Samsung SDI advanced 7.52 percent after local media reported it was jointly conducting lithium battery research with General Motors, which a Samsung SDI spokesman later confirmed.
"A Samsung SDI and Bosch joint venture has already secured deals to supply auto batteries to Delphi and BMW, so there's no reason for Samsung SDI not to eventually win a GM supply deal," said John Soh, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp. Institutions were sellers of a net 42.8 billion won worth of stocks, and foreign investors picked up a net 16.9 billion won.
Retail investors bought a net 37.1 billion won worth of stocks. Decliners outnumbered advancers 453 to 317 with 94 issues ending flat. Trading volume stood at 415.3 million shares worth 6.2 trillion won, compared with 410 million shares worth 6.38 trillion won on Friday. The KOSPI 200 March futures index rose 1.45 points to 224.45, and the KOSPI 200 spot index gained 1.17 points to 224.38. The junior Kosdaq market advanced 0.57 percent to close at 553.10.