Seoul shares up over 2 pct in late Tue. morning trade

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 2.32 percent higher late Tuesday morning, driven by the rallies in techs and airliners.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 55.38 points to 2,439.66 as of 11:20 a.m.

Top-cap Samsung Electronics soared more than 4 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics was also up 4 percent.

HMM, South Korea's largest container shipping company, spiked 5 percent, and national flag carrier Korean Air Lines gained about 3.8 percent.

Autos continued to trend in negative terrain. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.5 percent and its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis dipped about 2.3 percent.

The local currency was changing hands at 1,373.90 won against the greenback as of 11:20 a.m., up 6.9 won from Thursday's close.

South Korean markets were closed Friday through Monday for the four-day Chuseok fall harvest holiday.

elly@yna.co.kr
(END)