SEOUL-- South Korean stocks traded 0.8 percent higher late Friday morning, led by bullish large-cap tech companies.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.44 points to 2,688.93 as of 11:20 a.m.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics soared more than 3 percent, with chip giant SK hynix gaining about 1.4 percent.
Battery maker Samsung SDI also advanced 2.5 percent and chemical company LG Chem went up 4 percent.
Top automakers, Hyundai and Kia, fell about 2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, following the government's decision to push back large firms' entry into the secondhand car market for another year.
Steelmakers also trended downward, with POSCO Holdings falling 0.3 percent and Hyundai Steel slipping almost 2 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,269.60 won against the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., up 2.9 won from Thursday's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency