South Korean stocks traded more than 1 percent higher late Friday morning, led by strong tech shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had jumped 26.29 points, or 1.08 percent, to 2,466.33 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, all three major U.S. indexes gained ground, led by the strong performance of tech giants, such as Apple and TSMC.

In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics shot up 3.21 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix jumped 2.72 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor also increased 0.39 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia added 0.23 percent.

Bio shares were also strong, with Samsung Biologics up 1.47 percent and Celltrion up 1.89 percent.

Battery and IT shares were mixed.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution, POSCO Future M and Ecopro Materials shed 0.77 percent, 2.46 percent and 3.02 percent, respectively, but Samsung SDI edged up 0.13 percent.

Internet portal operator Naver was flat, while Kakao, the operator of the country’s top mobile messenger, soared 2.29 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,337.00 won against the U.S. dollar, up 2.7 won from the previous session’s close.

Source: Yonhap News Agency