Seoul Stocks Close 1.14% Up on US Gains

South Korean stocks closed 1.14 percent higher Thursday as overnight gains on Wall Street overshadowed worries about the economy's worst performance in a decade. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.62 points to 1,116.23. Volume was moderate at 341.64 million shares worth 4.21 trillion won ($3.06 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 517 to 290, according to Yonhap News.

"Financials got a big boost as U.S. financial stocks, including Citigroup, Bank of America and J.P Morgan, skyrocketed 20 to 30 percent," said Lee Chang-wook, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

U.S. Stocks bounced back strongly Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average soaring 3.51 percent and the Nasdaq composite index jumping 4.6 percent.

The Bank of Korea said earlier in the day that the nation's gross domestic product shrank 5.6 percent last quarter from three months earlier, the biggest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 1998.

KB Financial Group, which controls top lender Kookmin Bank, soared 4.21 percent to 33,450 won. Shinhan Financial Group gained 1.89 percent to end at 27,000 won.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics advanced 2.79 percent to close at 461,000 won, leading the key index higher.

However, other tech blue chips lost ground on lingering concerns over slow market demand and intensified competition, with LG Electronics losing 3.72 percent to 72,500 won and Hynix losing 5.59 percent to 7,430 won.

The local currency ended at 1,378 won to the dollar, down 5 won from Wednesday's close, as local companies bought the greenback to settle import bills.