Korean stocks finished over 1 percent higher Monday on gains in chipmakers, snapping a two-day losing streak, despite heightened uncertainty over hostilities in the Middle East that continued to keep oil prices elevated. The local currency lost ground against the greenback. After choppy trading, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 62.61 points, or 1.14 percent, to close at 5,549.85. Trading volume was heavy at 1.07 billion shares worth 21.6 trillion won ($14.4 billion), with losers far outpacing gainers 642 to 250. Foreign investors sold a net 848.1 billion won, while individuals and institutions bought a net 717.5 billion won and 89.7 billion won, respectively. "The KOSPI outperformed other Asian markets as semiconductor stocks advanced, driven by growing expectations ahead of the upcoming GTC event hosted by Nvidia and the earnings release from Micron Technology," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daeshin Securities. Nvidia hosts its GTC conference at Silicon Valley this week, where it is expected to show off the latest advances in chips and artificial intelligence (AI)