Seoul stocks turn higher late Tue. morning on tech gains

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

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Seoul stocks turn higher late Tue. morning on tech gains

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks turned higher late Tuesday morning, lifted by an extended rally in technology shares despite lingering uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 81.59 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,927.68 as of 11:20 a.m.

The advance came as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump's push to implement new tariffs following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his sweeping reciprocal import taxes.

Market participants are closely watching whether the KOSPI will close above the 5,900-point mark -- potentially setting another record -- or test the 6,000 level after finishing at an all-time high of 5,846.09 on Monday. The recent rally has been driven by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and gains in chipmakers and other large-cap stocks.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.66 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 1.13 percent.

Institutions bought a net 1.07 trillion won (US$739 million) worth of stocks, offsetting foreigners and individuals' stock selling worth 156.9 billion won and 931.9 billion won, respectively.

In Seoul, technology and energy shares led gains.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.33 percent, while chip giant SK hynix climbed 2.46 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 4.42 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation climbed 5.76 percent.

Among decliners, top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.29 percent, and defense firm Hanwha Aerospace dropped 0.73 percent.

Shipbuilders HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean shed 2.8 percent and 3.46 percent, respectively.

The Korean won was trading at 1,446.50 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 6.5 won from the previous session.

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