Seoul shares sharply up late Fri. morning after extended market rout

SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- Seoul shares traded sharply higher late Friday morning after the market plunged to a 19-month low the previous session amid growing concerns about a recession.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 53 points, or 2.29 percent, to 2,367.32 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, the U.S. stock market inched up on the second day of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress, during which he reaffirmed the central bank's commitment to bringing down high-flying inflation.

The Fed raised its policy rate by 0.75 percentage point last week to tame inflation that is running at a 40-year high.

The S&P 500 gained 0.95 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.64 percent. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.62 percent.

In Seoul, shares broadly went up, as institutional and foreign investors bought beaten-down tech stocks.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.26 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 1.33 percent. Leading internet company Naver jumped 4.49 percent.

Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of South Korea's Samsung Group, went up 1.46 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor gained 2.05 percent.

Among losers, LG Chem, the country's leading chemical company, shed 0.73 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,300.00 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 1.8 won from the previous session's close.

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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