Seoul stocks surge over 2 pc, heading toward new record high

Seoul, Nov 3 (IANS) South Korean shares traded sharply higher on late Monday morning, heading toward a new all-time high, led by sharp gains in big-cap tech and defence shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 84.42 points, or 2.06 percent, to 4,157.85 as of 11:20 a.m. The KOSPI rallied last week, with the index breaching the 4,100 mark for the first time Friday, reports Yonhap news agency.

The KOSPI's rise is in line with major U.S. indexes, which closed higher Friday on the back of sharp gains in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Tesla. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite increased 0.61 percent, and the S&P 500 added 0.26 percent.

Shares in AWS surged 9.58 percent on an upbeat earnings forecast, and those in Tesla jumped 3.74 percent on news its self-driving robotaxi will make its Asian debut in China.

In Seoul, major tech, defense and shipbuilding firms pushed up the KOSPI.

Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics rose 2.05 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix shot up 7.07 percent, continuing their recent rally sparked by growing optimism for the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

Internet portal operator Naver climbed 4.67 percent also on the back of the AI rally.

Defence and shipbuilding shares were bullish, with earnings releases of major firms planned for later Monday.

Defence industry leader Hanwha Aerospace jumped 5.31 percent after the company said its third-quarter net income more than doubled from a year ago on solid growth in both domestic and overseas sales.

Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy advanced 4.33 percent, while its rivals -- Hanwha Ocean and HD Korea Shipbuilding -- expanded 2.69 percent and 3.59 percent, respectively.

Energy solutions provider HD Hyundai Electric soared 9.77 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,430.3 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 5.9 won from the previous session.

Meanwhile, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan on Monday urged medium-sized enterprises to actively adopt artificial intelligence (AI) technology, calling it a must that he said will ensure their survival and growth.

—IANS

na/