[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s main bourse ended higher on Jan. 30 on the back of foreign investors, with its index closing higher than 2,200 for the first time this year, analysts said. The local currency gained against the greenback.

The benchmark KOSPI added 22.84 points, or 1.05 percent, to finish at 2,206.20. It marked the first time for the index to exceed the 2,200 mark since Oct. 10 when the market closed at 2,228.61. Trading volume was moderate at 469 million shares worth 6.77 trillion won (US$6.06 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 501 to 329.

Foreigners bought more shares than they sold at 305 billion won, while individuals offloaded a net 327 billion won. Institutions bought a net 19.7 billion won.

The local currency closed at 1,116.30 won against the US dollar, up 0.20 won from the previous session’s close.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)