▲ The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index is displayed on a screen inside the dealing room in Hana Bank in central Seoul on Aug. 26, 2026. (Yonhap)

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SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks closed nearly 1 percent higher Wednesday, boosted by stock repurchases from the country's chip giants and easing external conditions, while investors wait for the earnings release from Nvidia. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 65.47 points, or 0.97 percent, to 6,808.21.

Trade volume was moderate at 323.3 million shares worth 22.38 trillion won (US$16.15 billion). Winners outnumbered losers 584 to 273.

The index continued choppy trading in the early hours but gathered ground as institutional investors turned net buyers, purchasing a net 760.37 billion won.

Foreign and retail investors were net sellers, offloading a combined 2.36 trillion won.

"The KOSPI has recovered above the 6,800 mark, supported by stock repurchases, while a drop in global oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields helped boost investor sentiment," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said.

Chip giant SK hynix has been carrying out a stock buyback of around 650,000 shares since last Thursday, along with Samsung Electronics this week.

Investors are also closely following the upcoming earnings release from Nvidia, set to act as a vital barometer for the global artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure market.

Market top caps ended mixed.

Top-cap Samsung Electronics added 1.75 percent to 261,500 won, while its industry rival SK hynix inched up 0.6 percent to 1,688,000 won.

Industry leader Hyundai Motor fell 3.09 percent to 408,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace slid 1.36 percent to 1,087,000 won, while major financial firm KB Financial inched up 0.12 percent to 166,600 won.

Shares in the nuclear sector gathered ground, on reports the U.S. government has proposed that South Korea jointly acquire shares in the Westinghouse Electric Corp., a nuclear company owned by a Canadian private equity.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,384.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 1.3 won from the previous session.

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