Seoul, April 10 – Seoul shares continued their gains on Friday morning, mirroring overnight advances on Wall Street, fueled by optimism surrounding upcoming negotiations between the United States and Iran following their two-week ceasefire agreement in the Middle East conflict.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 103.21 points, or 1.79 percent, to 5,881.22 as of 11:20 a.m.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.58 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily weighted towards technology stocks, advanced by 0.83 percent, according to reports from Yonhap news agency.
Geopolitical developments in the Middle East supported investor sentiment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved direct talks with Lebanon aimed at disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, a move seen as potentially strengthening ceasefire efforts.
Netanyahu had earlier stated that no formal ceasefire agreement exists between Israel and Lebanon.
The U.S. and Iran are expected to begin negotiations over the weekend to formalize the ceasefire terms. U.S. President Donald Trump said overnight that he is optimistic about reaching a deal, while warning Tehran against interfering with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Institutional and foreign investors purchased a net 87.3 billion won (US$59 million) and 393.94 billion won worth of shares, respectively, offsetting retail investors' net selling of 631 billion won.
Most large-cap stocks traded higher.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose by 2.21 percent, and its chip rival SK Hynix jumped by 3.41 percent.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.2 percent, and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose by 1.81 percent.
Among decliners, leading refiner SK Innovation fell by 2.18 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution declined by 1.9 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,480.95 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., up 1.55 won from the previous session, according to the report.
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