Seoul stocks rose on Wednesday for a third straight day, lifted by optimism that the U.S. government shutdown may soon end.
 
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 44 points, or one-point-07 percent to close at four-thousand-150-point-39.
 
Trading volume was moderate, with 327-point-08 million shares worth 15-point-43 trillion won, or 10-point-five billion U.S. dollars, changing hands.
 
Gainers significantly outnumbered decliners 785 to 118.
 
Progress toward ending the United States government shutdown boosted investor sentiment after the Senate passed a temporary spending package.
 
In Seoul, automobile and energy stocks led the gains.
 
Hyundai Motor rose two-point-42 percent, while affiliate Kia climbed two-point-24 percent.
 
Refiner SK Innovation jumped three-point-43 percent, and shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries added zero-point-37 percent.
 
Among decliners, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix lost zero-point-39 and zero-point-32 percent, respectively.
 
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained 22-point-24 points, or two-point-52 percent, to close at 906-point-51.
 
The South Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar by two-point-four won, trading at one-thousand-465-point-seven won as of 3:30 p.m.