The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 46.12 points, or 1.57 percent, to settle at 2,990.57. Trading volume stood at 1.49 billion shares worth 26.3 trillion won (24.2 billion U.S. dollars).
The KOSPI started 0.03 percent lower and bobbed in and out of negative territory amid lingering worry about the COVID-19 resurgence here.
In the latest tally, the country reported 715 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 64,979.
The daily caseload fell below 1,000 after recording 1,020 in the previous day, but it hovered above 100 for 59 days since Nov. 8.
Both foreign and institutional investors reduced their holdings of domestic stocks, but retail investors bought a net 727.2 billion won (668.7 million U.S. dollars) worth of stocks after purchasing more than 1 trillion won (919.5 million U.S. dollars) of shares in the previous day.
Helped by the retail purchase, the KOSPI turned upward just one and a half hours before the market close, extending gains to come closer to 3,000 points.
Liquidity remained ample in the market as the country's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at an all-time low of 0.50 percent since May.
Among large-cap shares, gainers outnumbered decliners. The biggest oil refiner SK Innovation advanced 5.6 percent, and the No. 1 steelmaker POSCO jumped 4.4 percent. The IT solutions developer Samsung SDS surged 14.3 percent, but consumer electronics giant LG Electronics declined 1.4 percent.
The small-cap KOSDAQ added 8.14 points, or 0.83 percent, to close at 985.76.
The local currency finished at 1,087.6 won versus the greenback, down 5.5 won from the previous close. The South Korean currency depreciated on the remaining concern about the COVID-19 resurgence.
Bond prices ended higher. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes fell 1.8 basis points to 0.936 percent, and the return on the 10-year government bonds was down 3.2 basis points to 1.691 percent.
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