Seoul stocks extend gains late Fri. morning on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks continued their upward trend late Friday morning as bargain hunters targeted major tech companies. The KOSPI index increased by 154.88 points, or 2.79%, reaching 5,709.1 at 11:20 a.m. The benchmark index had opened higher the previous session after a sharp decline of over 7% due to concerns about the viability of the AI trade.

Meanwhile, Wall Street's major stock indices ended the day on a positive note, despite a dip in AI shares. Investors remained vigilant, closely monitoring the latest producer price data, which had the highest gain in 4½ years in September. The U.S. Producer Price Index surged 1.3% last month, driven primarily by energy price increases resulting from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

This development raised expectations that the Federal Reserve might maintain a cautious approach towards interest rates. In the South Korean market, chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both saw their shares rise by over 2%. Additionally, battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution experienced a gain of 0.99%, while Hyundai Motor, a leader in the auto industry, climbed 6.77%, and defense company Hanwha Aerospace surged 9.1%.