Seoul: Seoul shares continued to trade higher late Tuesday morning on the back of strong gains from technology and financial shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 39.61 points, or 1.61 percent, to 2,494.09 as of 11:20 a.m.

According to Yonhap News Agency, top cap Samsung Electronics rose 0.75 percent amid hopes that the impact of the new U.S. chip export curb against China will have only a limited impact on the tech giant. No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix also climbed 1.89 percent, contributing to the overall uplift in the tech sector.

Financial shares also continued to trade higher, with KB Financial rising 3.63 percent and Shinhan Financial increasing 3.9 percent. The financial sector’s strong performance provided additional momentum to the market’s upward trend.

In the pharmaceutical sector, Samsung Biologics, the leading pharmaceutical player, added 1.03 percent, and Celltrion advanced 1.63 percent. These gains further bolstered the market’s positive trajectory.

The local curr
ency was trading at 1,403.6 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 2.3 won from the previous session.