Seoul stocks move up late Monday morning on chip rebound

Seoul stocks experienced a late Monday morning surge on November 9, driven by a rebound in the nation's semiconductor leaders. Following an early decline, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose by 84.21 points, or 1.66%, reaching a level of 5,143.9. Major U.S. stock indices on Friday also closed higher, driven by a revival of key chip shares.

The S&P 500 increased by 0.31%, while the tech-focused Nasdaq climbed 1.09%. Investors are closely monitoring the situation surrounding Nvidia Corp., after the company announced an internal investigation into allegations that its CEO, Jensen Huang, had an affair with a suspected Chinese spy. In Seoul, large-cap shares showed mixed performance, with Samsung Electronics up 2.97% and its peer SK hynix gaining 4.15%.

Hyundai Motor declined 0.36%, defense firm Hanwha Aerospace dropped 1.67%, and financial institution KB Financial rose 1.13%. The Korean won was trading at 1,357.1 won to the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 5.9 won from the previous session's close.