South Korean stocks traded 0.15 percent higher late Friday morning, led by gains in machineries and financial firms, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.97 points to 1,978.62 as of 11:20 a.m.
Doosan Infracore, a leading construction equipment maker, shot up 3 percent and No. 3 lender Hana Financial Group advanced more than 2 percent.
But shares of textile and IT service companies lost ground. Major apparel firm LG Fashion dipped 2.5 percent, with NC Soft, an online game developer, retreating 2.8 percent.
The local currency was changing hands at 1,060.85 won against the greenback, down 0.75 won from Thursday's close. (Yonhap News)
