Seoul: South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning as institutions moved to purchase blue chip shares at bargain rates after a steep fall last week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 21.01 points, or 0.67 percent, to 3,140.42 as of 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the KOSPI experienced a significant drop on Friday, marking the biggest decline in nearly four months. This was largely due to a government proposal for a tax revision aimed at raising taxes on corporations and stock investors, which negatively impacted investor sentiment. Meanwhile, Wall Street was also affected by concerns over an economic recession, following weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data and an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding an increase in the reciprocal tariff rate for some countries, including Switzerland. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.23 percent, with the Nasdaq composite dropping 2.24 percent and the S and P 500 index declining by 1.6 percent.
In the Seoul market, top-cap Samsung Electronics saw an increase of 1.31 percent, while chip giant SK hynix's performance remained flat. Internet portal operator Naver experienced a surge of 3.11 percent, and Kakao, which operates the country's dominant mobile messenger, saw a spike of 6.31 percent due to expectations regarding the country's efforts to foster the AI industry. The state-run Korea Electric Power went up by 2.77 percent.
Doosan Enerbility, a leading nuclear power plant builder, saw a notable rise of 4.4 percent. In the automotive sector, major automaker Kia expanded by 1.59 percent, although local industry leader Hyundai Motor's stock remained unchanged.
In contrast, shipbuilders experienced a sharp decline following a rally the previous week. This earlier rally was fueled by South Korea's commitment to invest US$150 billion in the U.S. shipbuilding industry as part of a tariff deal with the Trump administration. HD Hyundai Heavy lost 3.15 percent, Hanwha Ocean tumbled 3.58 percent, and HD Korea Shipbuilding dropped 2.26 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,383.9 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., marking a significant increase of 17.5 won from the previous session.