Seoul stocks extend gains late Tuesday morning

SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks extended gains late Tuesday morning amid hopes of a slowdown in the new coronavirus outbreak.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 28.55 points, or 1.56 percent, to 1,854.31 as of 11:15 a.m.

The country's new coronavirus cases stayed below 30 for the second straight day, bringing the nation's total infections to 10,564.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks rose across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.35 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix was up 1.11 percent and top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 2.76 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,217.1 won against the U.S. dollar, up 0.8 won from the previous session's close.

khj@yna.co.kr
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