Seoul shares narrow losses late Fri. morning on tech gains

SEOUL -- The Seoul stock market saw a slight rebound late Friday morning after opening lower, as investors took profits and bought into major technology companies ahead of a national holiday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.24 percent to 6,977.07 by 11:20 a.m., after initially falling 0.47 percent. The market will be shut on Monday for the holiday.

Overnight, U.S. markets experienced modest gains, despite crude oil prices increasing, as the yield on benchmark Treasuries fell from recent multi-decade peaks. Dow Jones and S&P 500 both finished the session with minimal gains. Tech-focused Nasdaq composite posted a slight increase. In Seoul, some of the largest companies saw mixed results.

Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK hynix both ended the day higher, while SK Square, the parent company of SK hynix, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics saw slight declines. The Korean won strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar, reaching 1,359 won by 11:20 a.m., up 0.6 won from the prior day's close.