Seoul, May 14 (IANS) South Korean stocks were trading higher on late Thursday morning, inches away from another historic milestone of 8,000, with large-cap shares showing mixed direction.

After starting 0.38 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 53.17 points, or 0.68 percent, to 7,897.18 as of 11:20 a.m. The KOSPI had risen as high as 7991.04 at one point, reports Yonhap news agency.

The KOSPI kicked off bullish, tracking overnight tech gains in major U.S. indexes.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed 1.2 percent higher, and the S&P 500 added 0.58 percent, both reaching new highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.14 percent.

Wall Street was uplifted by news that chiefs from artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia, Tesla, Apple and other major tech companies joined U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to China, on expectations tension between the world’s two largest economies could decrease after the leaders’ summit.

Concerns over a faster-than-expected rise in U.S. producer prices, a key gauge of inflation, in April and lingering woes over little progress in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran were not enough to cool down the U.S. market.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics jumped 3.17 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix turned lower, losing 0.4 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 1.4 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics added 0.35 percent.

Samsung Life Insurance climbed 3.92 percent, and KB Financial expanded 0.72 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor was down 0.7 percent, and its sister Kia lost 1.45 percent. Its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis, on the other hand, went up 1.54 percent.

Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy plunged 7.37 percent, and power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility slipped 2.92 percent.

Electrical shares also lost ground, with HD Hyundai Electric sliding 2.03 percent and LS Electric dropping 1.93 percent.

AI investment firm SK Square also lost 1.93 percent. The Korean won was trading at 1,491.9 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 1.3 won from the previous session.

—IANS

na/