SEOUL– South Korean shares traded higher late Friday morning, buoyed by strong institutional buying, despite overnight falls on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 39.7 points, or 1.53 percent, to trade at 2,632.04 points as of 11:20 a.m.
After a bullish start, the KOSPI extended its gains on advances by tech, auto and chemical heavyweights.
On Thursday, the index dipped 1.28 percent.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined, largely on continued pressure on inflation hikes.
KOSPI’s top cap Samsung Electronics moved up 0.89 percent, and battery giant LG Energy Solution jumped 3.37 percent.
No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 0.9 percent, and the country’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor added 1.92 percent. Chemical heavyweight LG Chem soared 6.57 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,270.8 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.9 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency