Seoul shares up over 2% late Thursday morning on chip, heavy machinery gains

Hana Bank's dealing room in central Seoul, Wednesday / Yonhap

Korean stocks soared over 2 percent late Thursday morning as chips, heavy machinery and other blue chip gains elevated the market despite overnight losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 57.2 points, or 2.06 percent, to 2,828.04 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, U.S. stocks finished mixed as the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May fell to 49.9, dropping below the 50-point threshold for the first time since June of last year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.22 percent, while the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 added 0.01 percent and 0.32 percent, respectively.

The KOSPI continued to advance after Wednesday's 2.66 percent surge following the inauguration of President Lee Jae-myung, who won the election held after former conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted over his failed martial law attempt in December.

Most large-cap stocks advanced. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 3.46 percent, and chip rival SK hynix surged 5.4 percent.

Top defense systems manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace also jumped 5.56 percent, and shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean added 1.5 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings soared 5.5 percent.

Financials, however, lost ground. Kookmin Financial dropped 1.02 percent, while Hana Financial Holdings shed 0.13 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,357.85 won against the greenback at 11:20 a.m., up sharply by 11.65 won from the previous session.