Korean stocks up late Thursday morning

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded higher late Thursday morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 11.66 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,250.04 as of 11:20 a.m.

On Wednesday (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.94 percent to close at a new record high of 29,551.42, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ index climbing 0.90 percent to a new high of 9,725.96.

In Seoul, large caps were mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 1.49 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix spiking 3.0 percent.

Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics slipped 0.19 percent, while top chemical maker LG Chem advanced 1.35 percent.

Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor lost 0.37 percent, but its smaller affiliate Kia Motors added 0.60 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,180.00 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.50 won from the previous session's close.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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