Seoul, July 3 (IANS) Seoul stocks traded higher late on Friday morning in choppy trading as investors snapped up bargain-priced semiconductor shares following the previous session’s sharp sell-off.

After opening 1.2 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended its gains, rising 163.52 points, or 2.11 percent, to 7,809.61 as of 11:20 am, reports Yonhap news agency.

The index plunged 7.89 percent the previous session, dragged by a heavy sell-off in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 1 percent to a record high as weaker-than-expected June jobs data eased concerns over a near-term interest rate hike. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.8 percent, weighed down by another sharp sell-off in semiconductor stocks.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 5.4 percent, extending its decline for a second consecutive session.

Investors bought semiconductor shares following reports that AI startup Anthropic is in talks with Samsung Electronics to develop a custom AI chip.

Tech heavyweights lifted the overall market. Samsung Electronics advanced 6.12 percent, and chip giant SK hynix increased 3.02 percent.

AI investment firm SK Square slipped 0.79, while battery maker LG Energy Solution edged up 0.28 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,539.15 won per U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 16.65 won from the previous session.

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to South Korea rose 9.1 percent on-year in the first six months of 2026 on the back of growing global confidence in the country’s cutting-edge industries, data showed on Friday.

The country received US$14.28 billion in FDI commitments in the January-June period, up from $13 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

The amount of investment that actually arrived in the country also shot up 42.6 percent to $10.73 billion.

—IANS

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