Seoul: South Korean stocks trimmed earlier losses late Thursday morning, as Samsung Electronics soared following its third-quarter earnings release. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had lost 20.04 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,573.75 as of 11:20 a.m. The KOSPI had started 1.3 percent lower. According to Yonhap News Agency, the recovery in Seoul's stock market was attributed to the performance of Samsung Electronics, which saw a significant surge of 3.38 percent. The increase came after the tech giant announced in an earnings conference call that it has been selling HBM3E products to clients. This positive development for Samsung contrasted with the performance of its chipmaking rival, SK hynix, which saw a decline of 3.69 percent. Financial shares also showed weakness, with KB Financial down 3.09 percent and Shinhan Financial falling 2.57 percent. In the automotive sector, top automaker Hyundai Motor decreased by 1.59 percent. Meanwhile, Korea Zinc, the world's largest zinc smelter cu rrently embroiled in a management control battle, experienced a significant plunge of 10.45 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,379 won against the U.S. dollar, marking an increase of 3.4 won from the previous session. This reflects the broader market trends and the influence of global financial movements, as evidenced by Wall Street's recent performance where major indices, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq composite, and S and P 500, all finished lower.