An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks finished higher Tuesday, as investors moved to buy beaten-down shares while digesting the possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve keeping its aggressive monetary tightening stance.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 24.04 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,450.93.

Trading volume was rather slim at 327.21 million shares worth 6.69 trillion won ($4.97 billion), with winners far outnumbering losers 647 to 208.

Institutions and foreign investors unloaded a net 160.8 billion won worth of shares, while retail investors picked up a net 140.2 billion won.

"Investors seemed to go bargain hunting after a stock sell-off in the previous session," Choi Yoo-joon, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp., said.

The market has faced renewed fears about aggressive rate hikes since last Friday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank will keep rates at an elevated level to tame four-decade high inflation at the annual Jackson Hole meeting.

Higher interest rates, which he said will cause "some pain" to the economy, will likely continue "for some time," Powell said.

In Seoul, most big-cap stocks rose across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.34 percent to end at 58,800 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix rose 0.76 percent to 93,200 won. Key battery maker LG Energy Solution went up 1.31 percent to 465,500 won.

Internet portal giant Naver added 1.71 percent to 238,000 won, and platform operator Kakao rose 1.39 percent to 73,200 won.

The local currency ended at 1,346.70 won against the U.S. dollar, up 3.7 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)