SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares traded more than 6 percent higher late Thursday morning as investors snapped up major chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, amid expectations for stronger shareholder returns from chip giants.

After opening 3.23 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended its gains, rising 401.44 points, or 6.2 percent, to 6,872.61 as of 11:20 a.m.

Program trading for the KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes at around 10 a.m., as the Korea Exchange (KRX) activated a buy-side sidecar, a measure triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index rises 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

Overnight, Wall Street's major indexes closed higher as U.S. Treasury yields retreated after the Treasury Department announced plans to significantly increase buybacks of longer-term government debts.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond, which had climbed to its highest level since 2007, fell Wednesday along with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield.

In Seoul, chipmakers led the gains, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous session.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 8.99 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix surged 12.27 percent, a day after announcing plans to buy back 40 trillion won (US$28.7 billion) worth of shares to boost shareholder returns.

SK Square, the parent firm of SK hynix, advanced 9.21 percent, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronics component affiliate of Samsung Electronics, gained 0.65 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,394.4 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 5.3 won from the previous stock market session's close,

ejkim@yna.co.kr

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