Seoul stocks up late Wed. morning on tech gains

SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 0.78 percent higher late Wednesday morning on the back of a rise in big-cap shares following overnight Wall Street gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had added 21.23 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,731.23 points as of 11:20 a.m.

The Seoul market got off to a strong start to surge more than 1 percent, after U.S. shares closed higher as traders brushed off recent hawkish comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on rate hikes.

In Seoul, steel, auto and financials led the overall gains.

No. 1 steelmaker POSCO Holdings spiked 4.44 percent, and KB Financial Group soared 3.07 percent. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor jumped 1.15 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia went up 1.54 percent.

Tech blue chips were mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 0.43 percent, and major battery maker LG Energy Solution went up 1.01 percent. But No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix declined 1.21 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,214.10 won against the U.S. dollar, down 4.0 won from the previous session's close.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)