▲ This photo, taken Feb. 23, 2026, shows the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap)

stocks-morning

Seoul stocks trim earlier gains late Mon. morning on foreign selling

SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks pared earlier gains late Monday morning as foreign and institutional investors locked in profits.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 27.24 points, or 0.47 percent, to 5,835.77 as of 11:20 a.m.

The index opened substantially higher, adding 92.22 points, or 1.59 percent, to 5,900.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Investors are watching whether the KOSPI will close at a record high of above the 5,900-point mark or even test the 6,000 level after finishing at an all-time high of 5,808.53 on Friday. The rally has been fueled by optimism over artificial intelligence (AI) and gains in chipmakers and other large-cap stocks.

On Friday (U.S. time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.47 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9 percent.

Foreigners and institutions sold a net 494.59 billion won (US$343 million) and 269.66 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while individuals bought a net 707.16 billion won.

In Seoul, technology and auto stocks led gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.79 percent, while chip giant SK hynix climbed 0.74 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 3.34 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia rose 0.23 percent.

Among decliners, leading defense firm Hanwha Aerospace fell 0.24 percent, and leading shipper HMM declined 0.86 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,443.30 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 3.3 won from the previous session.

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