Seoul stocks trade higher late Friday morning

SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks continued to trade higher late Friday morning as investors welcomed the eased concerns over the military tensions in the Middle East and the upcoming trade deal between the United States and China.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to reach 2,195.38 as of 11:20 a.m.

Seoul shares traded higher for a second consecutive session after plunging more than 1 percent on Wednesday.

The stock rally came after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will not carry out military action in retaliation for Iran's strikes against U.S. bases in Iraq.

A Chinese trade delegation's scheduled visit to Washington next week to sign the so-called phase-one trade deal between the world's top two economies also boosted investor sentiment.

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 0.17 percent, and home appliances maker LG Electronics moved up 0.3 percent. Samsung's battery unit, Samsung SDI, increased 5.38 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics advanced 2.14 percent, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical gained 1.04 percent.

Financial firms, however, lost ground, with Shinhan Financial tumbling 1.42 percent and Samsung Life Insurance falling 0.55 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,162.65 won to the dollar, down 3.55 won from the previous session's close.

colin@yna.co.kr
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