Stocks higher for a second day as Fed minutes calm investors

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,744.09 points on Thursday, up 14.41 points, or 0.53 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

Stocks advanced for a second straight session Thursday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve's January minutes largely remained within the market expectations. The won rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi increased 14.41 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 2,744.09 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 602 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($9.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 464 to 372.

Foreigners bought a net 651 billion won and institutions purchased 434 billion won, while retail investors offloaded 1.1 trillion won.

After a solid start, the key stock index traded higher amid foreign and institutional buying.

According to the Fed's minutes, the officials reiterated their stance that they would soon start raising the key interest rates to rein in price pressure. The January document did not include the impacts from the Ukraine risk.

"Investors seem to be relieved that a large part of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes has already been priced in the stock prices," Mirae Asset Securities analyst Park Gwang-nam said.

Stocks briefly plunged in the wake of the U.S.-Russian military tensions over Ukraine, which fanned volatility in oil prices, one of the key drivers of the local stock prices.

But the Kospi rebounded in the afternoon amid hopes of a quick economic recovery, led by the country's highest monthly jump in January jobs data in 22 years.

Most large caps closed higher in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics up 0.27 percent to 75,000 won and chipmaker SK hynix increasing 1.92 percent to 133,000 won.

Samsung Biologics added 0.4 percent to 760,000 won, and carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.82 percent to 183,500 won. Battery maker Samsung SDI jumped 3.15 percent to 557,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,197.1 won against the dollar, down 0.5 won from the previous session's close.

The Kosdaq lost 3.93 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 874.22 points.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds lost 3 basis points to 2.295 percent, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond declined 0.7 basis point to 2.03 percent.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]