Seoul stocks turn up late Mon. morning on bargain hunting

Seoul stocks experienced a late Monday morning turnaround, climbing higher as bargain hunters targeted tech-focused companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.63 percent, or 93.16 points, to 5,823.9 by 11:20 a.m. This shift came after the index opened over 1 percent lower on Friday, impacted by persistent concerns over the profitability of artificial intelligence (AI) investments.

Friday's decline for the KOSPI was driven by disappointing quarterly results from major tech firms, which caused a drop of more than 1 percent for both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Chipmaker Intel suffered the most, falling 28 percent, while Alphabet, Google's parent company, declined 1.4 percent.

Despite the challenges associated with AI-related expenses, the semiconductor sector in South Korea remained robust. Exports of semiconductor products surged 259 percent year-on-year in October, according to data from the trade ministry. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, two of the world's leading chip manufacturers, both saw their shares increase by 0.89 percent and 2.47 percent, respectively.

Additionally, several AI investment firms and defense-related companies experienced gains on the day. SK Square, an AI investment firm, jumped 2.79 percent, while bio firm Celltrion increased 0.89 percent. Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace also benefited from the rally, surging 6.75 percent. The Korean won was trading at 1,341.9 won against the US dollar, down 7.6 won from the previous trading session's close, as of 11:20 a.m.