▲ This photo taken Oct. 17, 2025, shows the dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul. (Yonhap)

stocks-morning

Seoul stocks turn higher late Fri. morning on batteries, chemicals

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares turned higher late Friday morning, led by battery and chemicals shares amid hopes for a possible trade deal with the United States.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.06 points, or 0.54 percent, to 3,768.43, as of 11:20 a.m.

The KOSPI opened lower, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, after jumping 2.49 percent to a record close of 3,748.37 points on Thursday.

But the market turned higher as investors scooped up battery and chemicals stocks.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 0.05 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix climbed 1.99 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.1 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia climbed 0.9 percent.

Shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, a unit of Hanwha Group, advanced 2.38 percent and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings was up 3.23 percent.

Among decliners, national flag carrier Korean Air lost 0.45 percent and shipping firm HMM shed 0.24 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,420.05 won against the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., down 2.15 won from the previous session's close.

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