South Korean shipbuilding stocks advanced Thursday on bargain hunting, on course to end a multiday losing streak.

Shares of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, jumped as much as 8.4% in afternoon trading, after a three-session losing streak.

The stock led strong gains among its local peers, outperforming the benchmark Kospi's gain of less than 1%.

Shares of smaller shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries also reversed multi-session losses, gaining about 4% and more than 7%, respectively.

Over the past three months, shares of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean have slumped more than 30%, while those of Samsung Heavy Industries have slid more than 20%, FactSet data showed.

"We view this as a classic case of oversold stocks, characterized by rising earnings and declining valuation multiples," Seoul-based SK Securities analyst Han Seung-han said.

The profitability of these companies is strengthening as all three major local shipbuilders have huge order backlogs that should keep their shipyards busy for the next three years, Han noted.

Their brisk contract wins are likely to continue through the end of this year, he said in a research note.