Seoul: Seoul shares traded higher late Monday morning, driven by the strong performance of big-cap tech shares and foreign purchases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 14.29 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,202.36 as of 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, foreign investors purchased 427.7 billion won (US$307 million) worth of local shares, while institutions bought 161.4 billion won. Retail investors, on the other hand, had dumped 627.3 billion won worth of shares for profit taking. On Friday, Wall Street closed mixed due to concerns over the Trump administration's tariff policies, which offset the risky appetite spurred by strong U.S. retail sales data.
In terms of individual stock performances, tech giant Samsung Electronics rose 1.19 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix gained 0.84 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 2.79 percent, and defense powerhouse Hanwha Aerospace advanced 2.23 percent. Major power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility soared 3.09 percent, and steel giant POSCO Holdings surged 4.82 percent. Leading shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy escalated 4.73 percent and 3.21 percent, respectively.
Conversely, top automaker Hyundai Motor lost 0.71 percent, and its sister company Kia dropped 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, the local currency was trading at 1,391.6 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 1.4 won from the previous session.