Seoul shares pared earlier losses and turned higher late Monday morning as investors awaited progress in trade negotiations between the United States and several countries ahead of a July 9 deadline set by President Donald Trump.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.59 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,058.87 as of 11:20 a.m.
The Trump administration has set Aug. 1 as the date for higher tariffs to take effect, while indicating that some countries may be granted more time to negotiate deals on tariff rates.
The US government plans to send letters to some trading partners over the next several days as its 90-day tariff pause ends Wednesday (local time), or July 9.
Investors are focusing on the outcome of the negotiations for clues on the market's next move, as major US trading partners, including South Korea, have stepped up efforts to secure deals or request more time.
Institutions and individuals bought a combined 102.63 billion won ($75 million) worth of stocks, offsetting foreign selling valued at 108.98 billion won.
In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 3.22 percent, and state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. climbed 0.27 percent.
LG Energy Solution estimated its second-quarter operating profit more than doubled to 492.2 billion won ($361.2 million) from 195.3 billion won a year earlier.
Among decliners, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.26 percent and chip giant SK hynix slipped 1.2 percent.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 1.07 percent, and leading shipping firm HMM dropped 1.23 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,367.10 won against the US dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 4.8 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
