South Korean shares rise on upbeat US data

South Korean shares made the first rise in four trading days on Thursday as upbeat jobs data from the United States boosted market sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14. 48 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 1,839.14. Trading volume stood at 309.06 million shares worth 3.1 trillion won (2.7 billion U.S. dollars). The KOSPI rebound was triggered by Wall Street gains overnight stemming from positive employment data. The U.S. private sector added 188,000 jobs in June, beating market estimates. Market players were keeping an eye on the June non-farm payroll report in the U.S. due Friday. Federal Reserve's quantitative easing policy was largely dependent on improvement in jobs market. Institutional investors led the market gain by purchasing shares worth 83.7 billion won. Retail investors bought a net 3 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting foreign sales of local stocks valued at 85.3 billion won. Telecom shares rose sharply. Top wireless carrier SK Telecom advanced 3.7 percent on expectations for earnings results for the second quarter. The No.2 mobile operator KT climbed 2.6 percent, and its smaller rival LG Uplus jumped 3.3 percent. Large-cap shares ended mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.2 percent, and the nation's biggest auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis added 1.2 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem gained 2 percent, and top crude oil refiner SK Innovation increased 2.2 percent. In contrast, top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.5 percent, and the No.1 steelmaker POSCO slid 0.5 percent. The nation's biggest life insurer Samsung Life Insurance lost 0.5 percent, and the world's largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries dipped 1.1 percent. The local currency finished at 1,139.4 won against the greenback, up 4.3 won from Wednesday's close. Bond prices ended mixed. The yield on the liquid three-year treasury notes fell 0.02 percentage point to 2.93 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds rose 0.01 percentage point to 3.46 percent.