South Korean shares closed higher on Wednesday, extending gains for a third day, owing to gains made by technology and pharmaceutical shares.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, was up by 28.95 points, or 1.2%, to close at 2,521.05. The Kosdaq also rose by 1.34 points, or 0.2%, to end at 719.63.

In economic news, South Korea's current account surplus decreased to $9.30 billion in November 2024 from $9.78 billion in previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea released Wednesday.

Compared with the year-ago period, the figure increased from a surplus of $3.89 billion, the central bank said.

The goods account registered a surplus of $9.75 billion, driven by a 1.2% annual increase in exports to $57.10 billion and a 4.4% decrease in imports to $47.35 billion from the previous year.

Meanwhile, the services account posted a deficit of $2.09 billion, primarily due to deficits in manufacturing services, travel, and other business services accounts.

The primary income account recorded a $1.94 billion surplus in the month, owing to higher interest income, the central bank said.

In corporate news, Hanmi Semiconductor (KRX:042700) began the construction of its seventh factory to produce thermocompression (TC) bonding bonders, essential for high-bandwidth memory manufacturing, the company said Tuesday.

The two-story, 4,356 pyeong facility, near the company's existing six production sites in Seo-gu, Incheon, is slated for completion by the fourth quarter of 2025. The expanded capacity is expected to boost sales potential to around 2 trillion won, the release said.

Shares of Hanmi Semiconductor jumped more than 14% at market close on Wednesday.