SEOUL: South Korean stocks edged higher on Friday as risk appetites were bolstered by news of a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine as well as hopes of a debt agreement between Greece and its creditors.
Investors were relieved by the reported ceasefire for Ukraine, where a bitter stand-off between Russia and the West over the escalating conflict has been a constant source of unease for the financial markets over the past year.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.35 percent at 1,948.39 points as of 0200 GMT.
Oil-linked sectors outperformed after an overnight rally in crude prices with LG Chem climbing 2.8 percent while S-Oil rose 2.2 percent.
Foreign investors underpinned the main bourse as offshore funds bought a net 56.6 billion won ($51.5 million) worth of KOSPI shares by late morning.
The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks gained 0.39 percent while the junior, tech-heavy KOSDAQ index was up 0.63 percent.
March futures on three-year treasury bonds added 7 basis points to trade at 108.43.
