South Korean stocks traded 0.93 percent higher late Thursday morning on the central bank's decision to cut its key interest rate, analysts said.
   
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 18.13 points to 1,974.58 as of 11:20 a.m.
   
Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 1.08 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix climbing 1.75 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.62 percent.
   
South Korea's central bank delivered the first interest rate cut since October on Thursday in an apparent bid to lend support to the government's drive to spur economic growth.
   
The Bank of Korea lowered the benchmark seven-day repo rate by a quarter percentage point to a two-year low of 2.5 percent for May.
   
The local currency was changing hands at 1,086.15 won against the greenback, up 0.35 won from Wednesday's close. (Yonhap News)