Seoul Shares Nearly Flat Late Thursday Morning.

Seoul: South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Thursday morning, with bio shares offsetting losses by blue chip tech shares. After kicking off marginally lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 1.53 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,504.59 as of 11:20 a.m. According to Yonhap News Agency, tech shares lost ground tracking overnight falls on Wall Street. Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics decreased 1.07 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix slid 3.5 percent. Financial shares were also weak, with KB Financial down 0.91 percent and Shinhan Financial dipping 2.54 percent. However, bio shares provided a counterbalance to the losses, with Samsung Biologics jumping 3.67 percent and Celltrion shooting up 4.27 percent. Korea Zinc, the world's largest zinc smelter currently embroiled in a management control battle, soared 13.15 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,394 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., up 3 won from the previous session.