Seoul: South Korean stocks traded sharply higher late Monday morning as investors scooped up semiconductor shares on optimism on further artificial intelligence (AI)-related demand. Opening 3.34 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was trading up 198.88 points, or 2.97 percent, to 6,886.09, as of 11:20 a.m.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Wall Street closed lower Friday, but the PHLX semiconductor index rose 3.38 percent following the release of OpenAI's new GPT-6 Astra, which is anticipated to boost demand for memory chips. In Seoul, tech shares traded in positive territory, with chip giant Samsung Electronics rising 3.91 percent and its competitor SK hynix jumping 5.4 percent. SK Square, the parent of SK hynix, soared 5.67 percent, and Hanmi Semiconductor, a leading chip equipment firm, vaulted 5.43 percent.

Other notable movements included energy company Doosan Enerbility climbing 5.93 percent and entertainment giant CJ ENM adding 3.48 percent. Conversely, leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 0.11 percent, while major pharmaceutical firm Celltrion declined 0.96 percent. The Korean won was quoted at 1,344.15 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 5.65 won from the close of the previous stock trading session.