South Korean shares rebound on upbeat US data

South Korean shares rebounded Friday from the decline of the past three sessions as institutional investors bought shares following upbeat economic data from the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6. 51 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 1,889.24. Trading volume stood at 275.8 million shares worth 3.45 trillion won (3.06 billion U.S. dollars). The rebound of the U.S. stocks overnight led the KOSPI's gain. Wall Street ended higher due to positive indicators of retail sales and employment. Japanese stocks, which tumbled more than 6 percent on Thursday, advanced around 2 percent, helping investors' sentiment in the local stock market. Local institutions purchased stocks worth 373.3 billion won, keeping their buying streak for the sixth consecutive session. Foreigners kept their selling spree for six straight sessions on concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve may confirm its intention to taper off the bond purchasing program at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting slated for next week. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.9 percent, the first advance in seven sessions. Auto shares such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors ended bullish, but SK Hynix, SK Telecom and Hyundai Heavy Industries closed in negative territory. STX Group shares maintained their downward trend after the group's shipping unit STX Pan Ocean filed for court receivership. STX Heavy Industries, STX Engine and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding declined more than 4 percent. The local currency finished at 1,126.5 won against the greenback, up 7.9 won from Thursday's close. Bond prices ended higher. The yield on the liquid three-year treasury notes declined 0.06 percentage point to 2.76 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds retreated 0. 06 percentage point to 3.19 percent.