South Korean stocks traded slightly higher late Friday morning, as shares of large-cap exporters pared earlier losses, analysts said.
In a choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.89 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,886.86 as of 11:20 a.m.
Tech giant Samsung Electronics shot up 1.5 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix jumping nearly 3 percent.
In contrast, chemical and telecom issues lost ground. LG Chem shed 1 percent, and top mobile carrier SK Telecom slid 0.7 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,112.00 won against the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., up 1 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap News)
