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SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks hit another record closing high on Monday, driven by net purchases of local stocks by foreign and institutional investors. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.43 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 2,598.19. Trade volume was moderate at 433 million shares worth 7.8 trillion won (US$7.32 billion).
The local stock market opened higher, tracking strong gains on Wall Street last week.
The KOSPI briefly broke above the 2,600-point mark for the first time but ended below the milestone. The index reached as high as 2,604.06 at one point.
Lee Kyong-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, expects the current bullish run of local stocks to continue for the time being, helped by technology and financial stocks.
Samsung Electronics rose 0.87 percent to end at 2,561,000 won, while SK hynix, a global chipmaker, edged down 0.26 percent to 75,300 won.
Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, climbed 0.54 percent to 932,000 won.
Automakers traded in positive terrain, with industry leader Hyundai Motor up 1.31 percent to 154,500 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors gaining 1.19 percent to 33,900 won.
The local currency closed at 1,065.60 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.7 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys gained 5.9 basis points to 2.281 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond added 6.7 basis points to 2.559 percent.
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