South Korean stocks traded 2.14 percent higher late Thursday morning, as blue-chip tech firms and steelmakers widened gains, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 38.98 points to 1,863.14 as of 11:20 a.m.
Top-cap tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics surged 3.5 percent and Hyundai Steel hiked nearly 5 percent.
In contrast, large-cap insurers traded in negative territory, with Samsung Life Insurance losing 0.5 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,127.25 won against the greenback, up 8.55 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)
