Seoul stocks extended gains in late Friday morning trading as investors snapped up shares of the country's major chipmakers.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 30.74 points, or 1.25 percent, to 2,489.97 as of 11:20 a.m.
Local stocks were buoyed by strong foreign and institutional buying of semiconductor heavyweights following Samsung Electronics' first-quarter earnings guidance announced before the market opened.
The country's largest chipmaker reported the worst bottom line in more than a decade on a chip downturn. The tech behemoth said it will cut memory chip output to "meaningful levels" in a bid to respond to a sharp fall in chip prices.
Shares of Samsung Electronics advanced 4.01 percent while rival SK hynix was up 5.49 percent.
Investors are also bracing for the U.S. job data set to be released this week for cues of the U.S. central bank's next policy direction.
In Seoul, top caps were trading mixed, while battery makers lost ground.
Major battery maker Samsung SDI dipped 0.81 percent, chemical firm LG Chem inched down 0.14 percent, and POSCO Future M stayed unchanged.
Auto shares were mixed, with top carmaker Hyundai Motor up 0.05 percent, while its sister affiliate Kia descended 0.99 percent.
The local currency was exchanging hands at 1,318.2 won against the greenback, up 0.9 won from the previous session's close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency