Seoul, June 19 (IANS) Seoul stocks traded sharply higher on Friday, buoyed by chips and other tech heavyweights, after topping the historic 9,000 landmark the previous session.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 200.67 points, or 2.21 percent, to 9,264.51, as of 11:20 a.m., after peaking above 9,300 at one point, reports Yonhap news agency.

The index followed gains on Wall Street overnight, lead by major chipmakers, including Intel. The U.S. semiconductor company jumped after President Donald Trump said the firm had agreed to a deal with Apple to design and manufacture chips in the United States.

In Seoul, market top-cap Samsung Electronics rose 1.38 percent, while its industry rival SK hynix jumped 5.92 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up 1.33 percent, battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1.88 percent, while nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility retreated 2.41 percent.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,538.1 won against the U.S. dollar, as of 11:23 a.m., down 11 won from the previous session.

Meanwhile, South Korea posted a drop in its current account surplus with the United States last year for the first time in six years due to a widened service account deficit, while its current account deficit with China and Japan widened, central bank data showed on Friday.

South Korea’s current account surplus with the U.S. totalled US$111.42 billion last year, down from an all-time high of $116.97 billion in 2024, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The goods account surplus rose 2.53 percent on-year to $111.98 billion last year, on the back of a rise in semiconductors and smartphones.

But South Korea’s service account deficit with the U.S. widened to $14.62 billion last year from the previous year’s deficit of $8.88 billion, the central bank said.

The central bank data showed that South Korea reported a current account deficit of $25.32 billion with China last year, widening 7.97 percent from the previous year.

With Japan, South Korea saw its current account deficit widen by 13 percent on-year to $20.3 billion last year.

The country’s current account surplus with the European Union rose 9.9 percent on-year last year to $24.42 billion, driven by strong exports, according to the BOK.

The country also posted a $71.84 billion current account surplus with Southeast Asian nations last year, up 13.24 percent from a year earlier, while it recorded a $49.75 billion deficit with the Middle East, down 26.8 percent over the cited period.

—IANS

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