They said there was a risk the North Korean missile launches
on Wednesday could be followed by others, further dampening investor confidence even as the government and central bank have warned about a slower second half performance.
The KOSPI index rose 9.97 points at 1,273.93, off a low of 1,267.99 and a high of 1,278.94 on volume was 88 million shares worth 2.5 trillion won (US$2.6 billion). Rises outnumbered falls by 478 to 267.
Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth 55 billion won while institutions and retail investors were net sellers of 51.2 billion won and 8.4 billion won.
Hong Kong
Share prices closed little changed as investors traded cautiously ahead of key employment data in the US later in the day.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 18.79 points at 16,459.78. Turnover was thin at HK$21.35 billion (US$2.7 billion).
Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities, said the market was lackluster "ahead of the weekend and US employment report."
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