Seoul: South Korean stocks gained ground late Thursday morning after opening weaker, led by gains among finance and defense shares after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the second consecutive time. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 12.05 points, or 0.38 percent, to 3,199.21 as of 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the KOSPI opened slightly lower, taking a hit from Nvidia's after-hour trading losses on Wall Street following the second-quarter earnings announcement from the U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant. But the index later rebounded after the Bank of Korea (BOK) decided to keep the country's base rate steady at 2.5 percent. The central bank also raised South Korea's economic growth forecast for this year from 0.8 percent to 0.9 percent.
In Seoul, financial and defense shares led the overall gains. KB Financial Group advanced 1.47 percent, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace moved up 1.76 percent, and top car maker Hyundai Motor rose 1.36 percent. Chip shares were mixed, with Samsung Electronics retreating 0.64 percent, while its rival SK hynix added 1.44 percent.
Battery makers remained in negative territory, with LG Energy Solution shedding 2.14 percent and Samsung SDI falling 1.59 percent. The local currency was quoted at 1,388.9 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 7.4 won from the previous session's close.