Roundup: S. Korean shares rebound on higher oil prices

South Korean shares made the first rebound in three sessions on Thursday as higher oil prices eased worries about negative effect from cheaper crude oil.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 25.59 points, or 1.35 percent, to 1,916.26 at the close. Trading volume stood at 359 million shares worth 5.1 trillion won (4.3 billion U.S. dollars).

The rebound came as global oil prices turned upward, relieving concerns that cheaper oil will reduce export price of oil products and petrochemicals. Lower oil product prices contributed to lower exports of South Korea.

South Korea's exports tumbled 18.5 percent in January from a year earlier, marking the fastest reduction in more than six years.

Western Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped over 8 percent overnight in New York thanks to the dollar's weakness. In the previous sessions, crude prices tumbled more than 5 percent.

Market watchers said that financial market conditions in China and the move of oil prices had recently decided on the move of local stocks.

Foreigners raised stock holdings by 149 billion won, leading the market advance. Local institutions bought shares worth 170 billion won, while retail investors dumped a net 359 billion won worth of stocks.

Most large-cap shares gained ground. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.9 percent, and the state-run power supplier Korea Electric Power Corp. gained 1.5 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 2.7 percent, and the biggest auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis climbed 3.3 percent.

Leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific rose 0.6 percent, but top life insurer Samsung Life Insurance lost 1.3 percent.

The South Korean currency finished at 1,202.1 won against the greenback, up 17.2 won from Wednesday's close.

Bond prices ended higher. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes fell 0.2 basis points to 1.494 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds shed 0.3 basis points to 1.862 percent. Enditem