SEOUL, March 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korean stocks advanced Friday on rising expectations among stock investors for the agreed summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 26.37 points, or 1.08 percent, to settle at 2,459.45. Trading volume stood at 433 million shares worth 8.46 trillion won (7.9 billion U.S. dollars).
The KOSPI expanded its initial gains after news that Trump accepted Kim's offer to hold a summit by May this year to achieve permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
If held as agreed upon, Trump would become the first sitting U.S. president to meet the DPRK's top leader, which experts say would become a big step toward peacefully resolving the peninsula's nuclear issue.
The DPRK-U.S. summit will be preceded by the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the DPRK leader, which they agreed to hold in late April in the truce village of Panmunjom.
The summits between the two Koreas and between the DPRK and the United States in succession increased hopes among stock investors for the eased geopolitical tension and peace on the peninsula.
Foreign and institutional investors bought stocks, while retail investors were net sellers.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.1 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem jumped 5 percent.
The most-used search engine Naver rose 0.4 percent, and Samsung C&T, the de-facto holding company of Samsung Group, the country's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, picked up 1.5 percent.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor, however, shed 0.3 percent, and memory chip giant SK Hynix lost 0.2 percent.
South Korea's currency finished at 1,069.8 won against the greenback, up 0.4 won from the previous close.
