SEOUL, March 5 -- South Korean shares rebounded Wednesday from heavy selling in the past two days as Ukraine tensions subsided.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 17.13 points, or 0.88 percent, to close at 1,971.24. Trade volume stood at 194.81 million shares worth 3.57 trillion won (3.33 billion U.S. dollars).

The Kremlin said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered forces engaged in military drills to return to their permanent bases from the Crimea of southern Ukraine.

The withdrawal came a day after U.S. President Barack Obama warned of examining "a whole series of" economic and diplomatic steps to isolate Russia over its refusal to withdraw military forces from the Crimea.

Investors interpreted the move as a cheerful sign and reacted positively. Foreigners and local institutions bought stocks worth 12.7 billion won and 76.2 billion won respectively. Retail investors offloaded shares worth 93.7 billion won.

Large-cap shares mostly ended bullish. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.1 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1 percent. The country's No.1 web search engine NAVER jumped 3.7 percent to a new high of 852,000 won, beating SK Hynix to become the fourth largest stock in terms of market capitalization.

Memory chip giant SK Hynix, Kia Motors and POSCO ended in positive territory, but auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis and the state-run power supplier Korea Electric Power Corp. closed in negative terrain.

The South Korean currency finished at 1,070.9 won against the greenback, up 2.6 won from Tuesday's close.

Bond prices ended higher. The yield on the liquid three-year treasury notes fell 0.02 percentage point to 2.89 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds lost 0.02 percentage point to 3.56 percent.