SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korean stocks gained ground Friday on expectations for inter-Korean talks set to be held in the truce village of Panmunjom next week.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 31.06 points, or 1.26 percent, to settle at 2,497.52. Trading volume stood at 305 million shares worth 6.2 trillion won (5.8 billion U.S. dollars).
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) accepted South Korea's talks overture earlier in the day, agreeing to hold a senior-level, inter-governmental dialogue on Jan. 9 at the Peace House in the South Korean side of Panmunjom.
The two Koreas restored a cross-border hotline of direct dialogue earlier this week, which had not worked for the past two years.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed Thursday night that the two allies would not conduct the springtime joint military exercises during the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympic period.
Foreign investors bought a net 246 billion won (230 million U.S. dollars) worth of local shares amid the rising signs of a thaw in inter-Korean relations. Local financial institutions purchased shares worth 102 billion won (96 million U.S. dollars), but individual investors dumped shares worth 370 billion won (350 million U.S. dollars).
Tech stocks led the KOSPI's gain despite worry about the local currency's appreciation to the dollar, which weakens price competitiveness of local exporters.
The country's finance minister and top central banker met Thursday, agreeing to actively tackle a herd behavior in the foreign exchange market.
South Korea's currency finished at 1,062.7 won against the greenback, down 0.5 won from the previous close.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 2 percent, and memory chip giant SK Hynix advanced 2.9 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 1.7 percent, and the biggest steelmaker POSCO added 0.1 percent.
The most-used search engine Naver rose 1.7 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem picked up 1.7 percent.
Bond prices ended higher. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes shed 4.3 basis point to 2.099 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds lost 0.5 basis points to 2.518 percent.
