The benchmark KOSPI index is displayed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Seoul shares trimmed earlier gains late Thursday morning on retail selling, though institutions and foreigners bought bargain-priced chip stocks following the recent massive sell-off.
After opening 3.3 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) erased its earlier gains and moved up 150.61 points, or 2.08 percent from the day before, to 7,397.40 as of 11:20 a.m.
Despite the gains, investors remain concerned about renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as well as uncertainty over the next phase of artificial intelligence (AI) demand, analysts said.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.09 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 percent.
