Seoul shares trade slightly higher on chipmaker gains

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares traded slightly higher late Friday morning as gains in major chipmakers on hopes for shareholder returns offset lingering concerns over renewed increases in U.S. Treasury yields.

After opening 1.35 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) recovered its earlier losses, rising 42.61 points, or 0.61 percent, to 6,894.69 as of 11:20 a.m.

U.S. Treasury yields resumed their upward trend Thursday (U.S. time), reversing much of the previous day's decline following the U.S. Treasury's announcement of an expanded bond buyback plan.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.32 percent, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.87 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1 percent.

In Seoul, major chipmakers supported the broader market on continued expectations for shareholder returns.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 3.04 percent on reports that the chip giant could unveil a new shareholder return package worth up to 110 trillion won (US$79.7 billion) later in the day.

Its chipmaking rival SK hynix rose 3.61 percent, extending its rally after announcing a share buyback program Wednesday.

Kakao plunged 10.72 percent after announcing plans to spin off its KakaoTalk-based mobile messaging business into a new company focused on artificial intelligence, while the surviving entity will oversee the group's investment operations.

The Korean won was trading at 1,382.7 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 13.3 won from the previous session's close.