Stocks up nearly 8% late Friday morning on hopes for end of Iran war

The benchmark KOSPI is diplayed at a dealing room in Hana Bank, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Seoul stocks were trading sharply higher late Friday morning as U.S. President Donald Trump fueled hopes for an end to the Iran war.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was trading up 606.46 points, or 7.81 percent, to 8,370.41, as of 11:20 a.m.

After opening sharply higher, the index is remaining above the 8,000-point mark, as institutional and foreign investors snapped up blue chip tech stocks.

On Thursday (U.S. time) President Trump said Washington reached "a great settlement" on the war with Iran, and a deal would be signed as early as this weekend. Iran, however, has yet to confirm such a deal.

The Bank of Korea, meanwhile, reaffirmed its hawkish stance on rates, with Gov. Shin Hyun-song saying the bank should "raise interest rates without delay," in a message marking the bank's 76th anniversary.

Most market heavy weights were in positive territory, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics climbed 11.37 percent, while its rival SK hynix added 8 percent.

Top car maker Hyundai Motor advanced 5.53 percent, electronics maker LG Electronics moved up 6.19 percent, and leading financial company KB Financial jumped 8.05 percent.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,519.9 won against the U.S. dollar, up 9 won from the previous session.