Seoul stocks up late Friday morning, moving toward new high

Korean stocks traded higher late Friday morning, inching toward a new high after breaching the landmark 5,500-point mark the previous day. After starting marginally lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 24.5 points, or 0.44 percent, to 5,546.77 as of 11:20 a.m., continuing its bullish run one day after hitting the 5,500-point milestone for the first time. Tech giant Samsung Electronics increased 1.29 percent, surpassing the 180,000 won (US$125) mark for the first time, with preferred stocks of the company soaring 6.14 percent. Another semiconductor heavyweight SK hynix rose 0.45 percent. Artificial intelligence (AI) investment firm SK Square climbed 1.58 percent. Their strong performance came despite overnight losses on Wall Street sparked by concerns related to AI's impact across various industries. Power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility jumped 2.83 percent, and major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy escalated 2.41 percent. On the other hand, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 2.56 percent, and auto giant Hyundai Motor dipped 0.99 percent. Defense g