Seoul, Feb 26 South Korean stocks snapped a two-session fall on Wednesday, driven by gains from bio and information technology (IT) stocks, ahead of a fourth-quarter earnings release from Nvidia this week. The local currency fell against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 10.8 points, or 0.41 per cent, to close at 2,641.09.
Trade volume was slim at 377.9 million shares worth 10.9 trillion won ($7.6 billion), with winners beating losers 543 to 335, reports Yonhap news agency.
Institutions scooped up a net 239.6 billion won, while foreigners and individuals dumped a net 322 billion won and 21 billion won, respectively.
Overnight, Wall Street extended its losses on worries over inflation and tariffs after a report on lower-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence for February was released.
Investors are awaiting an earnings report from artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia this week, while remaining concerned over economic slowdown and U.S. tariffs.
In Seoul, bio and IT shares finished in positive territory. Leading pharmaceutical firm Celltrion soared 8.73 per cent to 189,300 won and SK bioscience added 0.54 per cent to 46,650 won.
Top online portal operator Naver increased 1.31 per cent to 231,500 won and its rival Kakao jumped 5.91 per cent to 42,100 won.
Game makers were also strong as NCSOFT advanced 2.65 per cent to 178,400 won and Netmarble climbed 1.01 per cent to 45,200 won.
Carmaker Hyundai Motor went up 1.23 per cent to 205,000 won and Kumho Petro Chemical vaulted 3.32 per cent to 118,200 won.
However, tech giant Samsung Electronics retreated 1.05 per cent to 56,600 won and leading defence firm Hanwha Aerospace fell 1.18 per cent to 672,000 won.
Hyundai Rotem, the train manufacturing subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, declined 3.93 per cent to 85,600 won, after announcing a 2.2 trillion-won deal to supply trains to Morocco.
The local currency was quoted at 1,433.1 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 2.7 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 0.5 basis point to 2.591 per cent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 2.2 basis points to 2.676 per cent.
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