South Korean stocks extended gains late Monday morning helped by gains in information-technology stocks.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.58 points, or 0.26 percent, to hit 2,165.81 as of 11:20 a.m.

The broad index didn't follow Friday's losses on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.31 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index declining 0.04 percent.

Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said investors' buying on Samsung Electronics Co. and chipmaker SK hynix Inc. drove up the main index.

Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. gained 0.83 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. was up 1.78 percent.

Meanwhile, top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.54 percent, and top steelmaker Posco was down 1.37 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,113.45 won against the US dollar, up 4.95 won from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)