Seoul: South Korean stocks rose nearly 2 percent late Thursday morning as investors scooped up tech shares amid eased concerns over the future of artificial intelligence (AI) following Nvidia's strong earnings report. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased by 120.5 points, or 1.98 percent, reaching 6,208.24 as of 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, U.S. stocks closed higher overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.63 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gaining 1.26 percent. In Seoul, chip and IT shares showed gains as Nvidia's better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings renewed optimism about the potential benefits of AI technology.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics saw a jump of 5.41 percent, while chip giant SK hynix advanced by 2.06 percent. LG Electronics soared 10.13 percent after Nvidia mentioned the Korean company as a partner for its physical AI business. IT giant Naver increased by 4.15 percent, and leading mobile carrier SK Telecom rose by 0.25 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,422.1 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., marking an increase of 7.2 won from the previous session.