Seoul, Aug 14 — South Korean shares pared earlier gains late on Friday morning as retail and institutional investors continued to sell large-cap technology stocks despite bargain hunting by foreign investors.
After opening 2.7 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 87.95 points, or 1.29 percent, to 6,901.29 as of 11:20 a.m. The KOSPI had briefly touched the 7,000 mark in early trading, rising 2.9 percent.
Foreign investors alone scooped up nearly 1.01 trillion won (US$714 million) worth of shares, offsetting a combined 978.9 billion won in net selling by retail and institutional investors, reports Yonhap news agency.
Overnight, the U.S. stock market rose to an all-time high amid easing oil prices.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8 percent.
In Seoul, blue-chip shares led the advance. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics went up 0.56 percent, while rival chipmaker SK hynix added 3.2 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,414.1 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 4.5 won from the previous session's close.
Meanwhile, South Korea's economic recovery trend is strengthening, driven by robust exports and improving domestic consumption, the finance ministry said on Friday.
Amid lingering uncertainty stemming from the conflict in the Middle East, burdens on people's livelihoods persist, including inflationary pressures from high oil prices and difficult employment conditions for vulnerable groups and sectors, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said in its monthly economic assessment report, known as the Green Book.
"Recently, the Korean economy has seen its recovery strengthen, with exports rising sharply and domestic demand, including consumption, showing signs of improvement," it added.
The ministry upgraded its assessment of the economy in its latest report, describing the recovery as strengthening, compared with the previous month's assessment that it was solidifying.