An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap) South Korean stocks spiked more than 8 percent Thursday on tech gains, after Samsung Electronics averted a strike and strong earnings from Nvidia, along with optimism over its robotics business outlook, boosted investor sentiment. The local currency gained ground against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 606.64 points, or 8.42 percent, to close at 7,815.59. after rising as high as 7,819.23.The index opened sharply higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after crude oil prices fell amid reports that US President Donald Trump said Washington was nearing a deal with Iran to end the war in the Middle East.As stocks extended gains, program trading was suspended for five minutes at around 9:23 a.m, as Kospi 200 futures stayed over 5 percent for more than 1 minute.Major chipmakers and robotics-related shares surged after US chip giant Nvidia posted stronger-than-expected earnings and its chief, Jensen Huang, highlighted physical artificial intelligence and robotics as key growth areas.The Korean won was quoted at 1,506.1 won against the US dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 0.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)