SEOUL– Seoul stocks extended gains late Friday morning as foreigners and institutional investors went into a buying mode.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 17.68 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,282.33 points as of 11:20 a.m.
The KOSPI got off to a weak start but soon turned upward and gained more ground in the morning trading hours on buying by institutions and foreign investors.
The gain came despite overnight declines on Wall Street caused by concerns that strong U.S. job data could push the Federal Reserve to keep raising rates to tame inflation.
In Seoul, most large caps traded higher.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics advanced 0.86 percent, despite worse-than-expected earnings estimate for its fourth-quarter operating profit.
No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix rose 1.6 percent and major chemical firm LG Chem added 2.24 percent, while bio firm Samsung Biologics declined 0.37 percent.
Car parts maker Hyundai Mobis traded up 4.11 percent on the news that the company plans to use Qualcomm’s chips to develop self-driving controllers.
The local currency had been changing hands at 1,269.5 won against the greenback, down 0.1 won from the previous session’s close, as of 11:20 a.m.
Source: Yonhap News Agency