South Korean stocks traded sharply higher late Thursday morning, with most market heavyweights remaining in positive terrain on overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.99 points, or 1.01 percent, to 1,902.82 as of 11:20 a.m.

Tech and auto shares led the overall market advance, while some defensive shares retreated.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics climbed 0.84 percent as its estimated fourth-quarter operating income beat market expectations at 5.2 trillion won (US$4.73 billion), largely thanks to strong demand for chips.

Chipmaker SK hynix jumped 4.32 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 3.24 percent.

In contrast, state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. shed 0.93 percent, and top mobile carrier SK Telecom fell 0.22 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,099.80 against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 0.1 won from Wednesday's close.

U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday from their five-day straight loss, aided by upbeat jobs data and the Fed's minutes indicating that the bank was not in hurry to start raising borrowing costs. (Yonhap)